Georgia Blues :DarylDixon::TWD:
by Heartofdixon5296
Summary: "Those Dixon boys are nothin' but trouble!" Trouble they may have been, but they were my everything. And now, sitting here holed up in this damn department store, I knew I'd probably never see 'em again. It had been three months since the world went to shit, and Daryl, Merle and I had been separated... And two weeks since I'd been bitten. DarylxOc
1. Prologue

.:Raelyn | Age 27 *present*:.

Low groans and sounds of confused, shuffling feet rumbled below me, a consistent reminder that this was real. This was really fucking happening. I was really stuck inside a department store somewhere in Atlanta, wedged up in the cramped space between the ceiling tiles and the roof inside the security office.

There really were zombies roamin' around, hundreds of them... Almost no living, breathing people left. It was like something out of a God damn horror movie.

And worst of all... They were really gone. Daryl and Merle. When all hell broke loose back home, it didn't take but a stop at a 7-11 for God knows what now, for the three of us to be torn apart by the chaos. But that was weeks ago... Maybe months, I honestly couldn't tell the difference. All I did know was that I had been on my own a long, long time... And I missed them somethin' awful... especially Daryl.

Both brothers were very dear friends to me, my closest and only friends... But there was something special about Daryl. The bond we had was very different than the one I shared with Merle, who I looked at as more of an older brother... A perverted, racist drunken older brother. Daryl was older, too, but only by three years... Merle had ten or twelve on me.

So maybe it was because we were closer in age that I had always felt just a little more partial to Daryl... Or it could be that he had always been the one to stand up for me and take my side when everyone else just wanted to push me in the dirt. Our entire friendship, which had blossomed when I was seven and he was ten, there seemed to have been something, some sort of emotion, lingering in the shadows, hunting each of us down and waiting to pounce...

And when it finally did after 18 years, leaping out in the form of an alcohol induced kiss on his living room couch two days before the outbreak, I was floored. I knew exactly what it was, and couldn't believe I had been so blind to it.

Finally I realized... I was in love with Daryl Dixon. My best friend. But the kiss seemed to have freaked him out, even though he was the one who made the move. It scared the hell out of me, too. But he shut me out completely, holding true to the cold Dixon nature. To this day all these weeks later, we obviously hadn't had the chance to speak about that night.

Hell, I didn't even know if Daryl was still alive. Even if he was, how would I ever find him and ask him all these questions I had about us?

All this time, I'd been working my way up through Georgia, searching for the guys high and low with no signs, the city set as my goal.

They had to be there, I had thought to myself. The city had to be safe, it was quarantined. At least that's what I remembered the radio instructing everyone in the middle of all the panic.

How could I have been so damn stupid? The city wasn't safe at all... It was just like every where else... A barren, death ridden waste land. I guess the never ending sea of rusted, abandoned cars down the long stretch of high way leading into Atlanta should have been my first tip. But I just had too much hope to turn back.

Maybe it had been quarantined at one time in the beginning of this shit storm, I could remember coming across the large stone barriers at the South entry point of the city... But the motionless tanks, blood splatter and endless amounts of debris littering the streets painted a pretty clear picture of exactly just how that had worked out.

Most of the people in the quarantine zone, including the military personnel, were either chewed up and smeared across the pavement, or they had been infected and were stumbling about in search of their next meal, charging anything with a pulse... Which is exactly how I was forced into this little hiding spot of mine.

I sighed as I leaned my head of mangled blonde hair back against the wall and tried not to think about Daryl. My eyes squinted shut as dust particles floated down from the ceiling and coated my face, sticking to the clammy film of sweat that covered my entire body. This was the end of the world, mind you, so of course there was no AC. That shit went out a while ago.

And these summers in Georgia... It was damn near suffocating. If I had counted right, which I really couldn't be too sure of, I had been up here for at least three days, stranded with no food, water, or ammo for my single pistol. I glanced down at a crack through the tiles, glaring at the stupid bastards who chased me up here. My original plan had been to climb up into the ceiling and wait for the freaks to forget about me, and straggle back into the streets... But that never happened. They all just got comfortable right where they were, totally fucking me over.

All of them looked horrible and disgusting, their skin green and slimey, fallin' right off their bones. The smell they were givin' off was hands down the worst thing I could ever possibly think of inhaling... It was a room full of dead bodies, so of course it was going to reek like it.

I tried not to feel hopeless as my mind buzzed for possible solutions to get me out of this mess for about the millionth time.

Option 1) Find a weapon and start killin' these fuckers where they stand. Great idea, except there was nothing even remotely deadly anywhere near me.

Option 2) Call for help. Pointless, there was no one around to hear me except more flesh eating geeks. That's a no-go.

Option 3) Just run for it. I'll file that one back there with "Just kill yourself".

No matter which way I looked at it, I was stranded. There was no way I could get out of this... I was going to wither away here, and probably die of dehydration before any walkers around here could lay a creepy hand on me.

I knew if Merle and Daryl were here, they'd slaughter every geek within a fifty foot radius, then tease me about how I let them get the best of me.

"Good lord, Rae, git yerself together. Quit bein' such a pussy." Daryl would say.

"Aw c'mon now, Dare Bear, don't give 'er a hard time," Merle's sarcastic drawl would come back; I could almost see that devilish grin he always had plastered on his scruffy mug, "She's jus' a little girl, after all."

I smiled faintly as their teasing voices bounced back and forth inside my head. Normally, I hated when they called me a little girl, or said that I was weak, or a pussy.

Growing up around the Dixon boys, that's the last thing you ever wanted to be: weak. And I had spent my entire life proving to them that I could handle myself.

Still, in this moment, I would have given anything just to hear their husky, Southern voices... But instead, I heard my Aunt Laura's.

"Those Dixon boys are nothin' but trouble!"

Trouble they may have been, but they were my everything. And now, sitting here holed up in this damn department store, I knew I'd probably never see 'em again. It had been three months since the world went to shit, and Daryl, Merle and I had been separated...

And two weeks since I'd been bitten.

.:To Be Continued:.

|¦ hey yall! heartofdixon5296 here. This is my second Daryl fanfiction. My first is on my other account, t0ritee, and its called Starting Over. I'm still very actively updating it, this story had just been floating about in my head and in my notepad on my phone soon here it is!

It is going to follow the BASIC plot of the show from season 1-3 for now because that's all I've seen of the show and that's still a long span of time. When I say basic, I mean I will stick to main sequence of events, but dialogue will be changed, reasons for events may change and I may take certain things out and add my own things in... We'll just see how it goes!

I know the prologue was short but I just want to see what you guys think... Please leave your reviews, lovely readers! Thank you!


	2. Chapter One

.:Raelyn | 27 *present*:.

The heat was really starting to get to me.

No matter how many times I reached up to wipe the sticky sweat and matted hair away from my forehead, it accumulated again in a matter of seconds. My breaths were quick and shallow, the heat making the air thick and heavy. I was getting light headed, dehydration was definitely taking its toll on me.

"I gotta get the fuck outta here..." I hissed to myself, already knowing there was no way out, just not ready to accept it.

Suddenly, gun shots rang out. They sounded like they were coming from outside in the street. I bolted upright, my Peridot green eyes wide and every muscle in my body tensed as I listened. Along with the gunshots, I could hear heavy metal doors creaking as they opened, slamming hard as they fell closed.

The geeks below me began to stir and fester, and as two more gunshots broke the air, they all rushed out of sight. I could hear their growls and shrieks echoing through the halls of the department store, no doubt headed toward whoever had that gun...

Now was my chance. I quickly tucked my empty, almost useless pistol into the waistband of my ripped up jeans. I had been wearing them for months now, so they were dirty, stretched out and baggy, hanging off my thin frame just slightly. My exposed knees were scraped up and smudged in dirt from constant crawling and hiding, and they stung as I stretched my legs out and began to dangle myself down from the loft.

The weakness of my legs caught me off guard, and I gasped as they buckled to the floor, unable to hold my weight... Even if it was only 115 pounds.

"Son of a bitch..." I growled, almost feeling angry.

That's what this new bullshit world made me more than anything: Angry. More than sad, more than scared... I was just angry.

Angry that my two best friends in the entire world, the only two people I had, were gone. Either they were dead, walking around as one of those things... Or they had high tailed it to the woods, where I'd surely never find them. Either way it seemed hopeless... And the hopelessness just made me more angry at myself.

I tried not to think about any of that as I forced myself to my feet, tangling my legs in the grungy red flannel that was tied around my hips. I could hear voices... Voices and footsteps. I debated with myself for a split second, knowing damn well that just because someone was alive, didn't mean they were safe.

But, weighing my options, I decided I had a better chance of making it if I found a group of people to stick with... Not that I necessarily wanted to.

If it hadn't been Merle or Daryl, I had never had the interest in putting myself around other people, and the end of the world hadn't changed that much about me. I was still stubborn, hot headed Rae, who could take care of herself and didn't need any help from anybody... traits I picked up from the Dixon boys themselves.

But right now, as much as I hated to admit it, I needed help. My head was spinning from dehydration and heat exhaustion, and my stomach felt sunken in from severe hunger. The last time I had eaten any protein was weeks ago, when I was still traveling through the woods. Even then, it was only one squirrel I managed to beam with a rock and knock out of a tree.

Raw squirrel meat wasn't appetizing in the least. In fact I had almost puked at least three times while I forced the cold, bloody, gamey meat to slide down my throat... But survival wasn't about eating what tasted good. That's why it was called 'survival'.

The voices and footsteps were getting closer by the second. I had to move quick, or whoever was out there would most likely pass right by this tiny security office without even knowing I existed.

"Hey...!" I tried to holler out, but my throat was dry and caught my voice in my vocal chords.

I coughed and cleared my throat as I hobbled across the office, bracing myself against a long fold out table to hold up my weight.

"Hello...?!" I called out again, my voice still raspy but a little louder now. "Help!"

Ugh. Even in this moment, the vulnerability in my voice made me sick.

I stumbled out into the eerie, empty hall littered in old news papers and smeared in dried blood. I ignored the desperate messages spray painted on the walls in big black letters as I tried to focus instead on where the voices were coming from.

Then, at the end of the hall, two people suddenly came into view; A man looking to be in his late thirties or early forties, dressed in a sheriff's uniform. The other was a younger Asian man, probably around 22 or 23. He was dressed in a white t-shirt and black pants, with a backpack on his back and a baseball cap on his head.

"Hey...!" The sheriff spoke up first as he layed eyes on me while I crumbled to the floor in exhaustion. "Hey, there's a girl over there...!"

"We don't have time to stop...!" the young Asian man protested as he frantically glanced over his shoulder and tried to usher the older man away with him, "Wh-what if she's infected?!"

But the sheriff wasn't listening. He was already cautiously stepping toward me, his hand resting on his shiny silver revolver for good measure.

"Hey, now... I'm a police officer." The man spoke slowly as he approached me, "Don't be afraid, okay?"

I felt myself scoff at his words as I lifted my head up to peer at him.

"I ain't afraid of you," I whispered weakly but intensely, my Georgia twang clear in my voice, "I ain't infected, neither."

"Well, did you get bit?" the man in the baseball cap demanded from behind the sheriff, urgently glancing over his shoulder again.

My jaw clenched as I thought of the pair of teeth marks etched into the soft skin on my side, underneath my black tank top. By now, it was a smooth, slightly raised up scar... When it happened, though, I was sure I was going to die. If not from turning, from just the blood loss alone... Bastard had really got me good.

I had waited and waited, but nothing ever happened. Fever never struck, I obviously never got a hankerin' for flesh or blood... So of course, I was puzzled. But in that moment, as these two strange men stared down at me expectantly awaiting my answer... I lied.

"No." I replied simply as my eyebrows furrowed together, my green eyes boring into the Asian man, "I'm fine. Just dehydrated..."

The sheriff wasted no time, retracting his hand away from his gun and quickly helping me up to my feet. My head spun at the sudden motion, but I pulled myself together despite the intense wave of nausea I suddenly felt.

Now was not the time for me to be blowin' chunks.

"C'mon, let's get movin'." the sheriff said to the young Asian man as he pulled me down the hallway with him, my arm draped over his shoulder.

The Asian man glanced wearily at my dirt smudged face for a split second, then nodded and we started off to the left, toward a mildew covered stairwell. I struggled to keep up with the sheriff's quick steps, grunting and gasping as we went.

We bounded down the stairs, a avoiding the piles of broken glass that had fallen from the windows above. The sounds of our shuffling footsteps and ragged breathing bounced off the cement walls in rapid echoes. Suddenly, I could hear the fuzzy interference of a walkie-talkie, and looked up to see the Asian man speaking into one.

"It's me, I'm coming back," He breathlessly huffed into the device, "Got two guests, plus three geeks in the alley. Get ready, we're comin' in hot!"

He didn't wait for whoever was on the other end to respond. Instead, the Asian man shoved the walkie talkie into his waist band, just as the three of us dropped off the last step and came face to face with the three walkers he had just mentioned.

They immediately caught sight of us, two 'women' and one 'man'. Their eyes grew fierce with hunger as they began to make those God awful squealing sounds, but they didn't have much time to act before a door at the other side of the alley swung open behind them.

Two figures rushed out toward the geeks, cloaked in heavy black snowsuits and motorcycle helmets. The first was wielding a long metal pipe, and the other grasped a baseball bat.

"Go, go!" One of the mystery figures screamed at us from under the helmet in a Hispanic accent, urgently motioning toward the door, "Move, hurry the hell up!"

We followed their instruction, and the two cloaked figures started beating the brains out of the zombies. Bones crunched and blood splattered across the cement, and the smell was somethin' awful. If the Asian man wouldn't have held the door open for the sheriff and I, allowing us to duck inside the safety of another building, my gag reflex probably would have got the best of me.

I could hear the two people outside calling out to each other and rushing back inside, slamming the door behind them.

Then, suddenly, the sound of a handgun's safety clicking off caught my attention, followed by someone shoving the sheriff hard in the chest, throwing me off balance.

"You stupid son of a bitch, we ought'a kill you...!" a woman's voice angrily hissed as I crashed to the ground, slamming my head into a metal rack of faded shirts amidst all the chaos.

I glanced upward to see a room full of people, other survivors... Right above me, a strung out woman with a blonde ponytail held a gun to the sheriff, aiming it at his face at point blank range.

"Hey, c'mon Andrea, back off." The man with the Hispanic accent piped up as he removed his helmet, revealing a pudgy face with a dark, scruffy beard.

"Yea, take it easy..." an African American woman agreed, trying to place a hand on the blonde woman's shoulder, but she ripped away.

"Take it easy, are you kidding me?!" the woman known as Andrea snapped, never taking her eyes off of the sheriff, "We're all dead 'cause of this asshole and his little girlfriend."

She tossed her gaze down at me, sneering and looking disgusted.

"Andrea...!" the Hispanic man spoke again, walking up behind her and giving the back of her head a serious glare. Still, she didn't lower the gun.

"Hey, I ain't his girlfriend," I sharply corrected this Andrea woman, pushing myself to my feet even though I felt weak as all hell... I wasn't going to let that show to these people. "Don't even know the guy's name, just met him two minutes ago."

Andrea finally dropped her gun down, narrowing her blue eyes at me and taking a step forward.

"Really?" She hissed, getting too close. "I think you're lyin' out your ass."

I stood my ground, narrowing my eyes right back at her. Who the hell did she think she was?

"Bitch, you are pressin' the wrong buttons..." I warned Andrea in a low growl, feeling my fingers clench tightly into fists.

"Hey, hey, now!" the Hispanic man spoke up again, wedging himself between the two of us and nudging Andrea back away from me, "Chill out. Last thing we need is a cat fight."

Andrea reluctantly stepped back away from the sheriff and I, pressing her palm to her forehead in distress.

"No, the last thing we need is attention drawn to us!" She shrieked, her face falling into slack despair, "We're dead, all of us. Because of you."

She kept her hateful eyes off me and glued to the sheriff, who was staring with intent confusion at each face in the room, including mine.

I glanced over to the young Asian man, making eye contact for a split second before he looked away, not saying a word.

"I don't understand..." the sheriff slowly spoke up after a second, raising an eyebrow.

Suddenly, the Hispanic man stepped forward and grabbed the sheriff by the arm, steering him off around the corner behind him. Everyone followed, including me, trailing along behind the group.

"See, we came into this city looking to scavenge for supplies." I could hear the Hispanic accent whispering harshly at the front of the group, "Do you know what scavenging means? Staying low and keeping quiet, not firing off a gun in the middle of the street like a god damn idiot...!"

Finally, we stopped in a room that looked like it used to be a small boutique. Brightly colored clothes still hung on the few racks that had been left standing, and the cashier's station almost seemed untouched, aside from some scattered receipt paper.

In front of us, though, the thick glass doors had been chained shut... On the outside, hundreds upon hundreds of geeks swarmed the entrance. They slammed their creepy, decrepit hands onto the glass, screeching and hissing loudly.

"Every geek from miles around heard you poppin' off rounds, man." An African American man I hadn't noticed yet spoke up from the back of the group.

"Get the picture now?" the Hispanic man asked seriously.

"You pretty much just rang the dinner bell." Andrea sneered in terrified disgust at the walkers, then up at the blue eyed police officer, "What the hell were you doing out there, anyway?"

"I was trying to follow the helicopter..." the sheriff replied, staring at the beasts outside the glass.

Everyone in the room gave him a puzzled stare.

"Helicopter?" I repeated his words, my thin blonde eyebrows raised, "You must be delusional."

"Yea, man, ain't no damn helicopters!" the African American man agreed, scoffing as if that were the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.

"It's so damn hot out there, and the chaos of it all can make you see things... It happens." the African American woman from before tried to gently reassure the sheriff, but he wasn't having it.

"I saw it." He harshly snapped.

At that moment, a loud cracking sound caught our attention and shut everyone up. Each head in the room whipped forward with wide eyes, only to see that one of the walkers had picked up a pretty good sized rock, and was now slamming it into the glass.

We all gasped and huddled backwards into the clothes, stumbling over each other as we watched a crack begin to splinter, growing and growing with each strike of the rock.

"What the hell," I hissed as I glanced about the group, "Since when can those fuckers pick shit up like that...?!"

Andrea glared at me from a few feet away with her brows furrowed and her mouth upturned in an ugly frown. She seemed disgusted by my language, but I didn't give a damn. I was disgusted by her face, so we were even.

"I don't know, but we're running out of time!" the Asian man piped up from somewhere, "T-Dog, try to call the others."

"Others?" the sheriff asked, "The refugee center?"

"Yea, the refugee center," the African American woman replied back, her voice dripping in sarcasm, "They've got biscuits in the oven waiting for us."

I stifled a very inappropriate laugh at the woman's attitude. But, as I studied the sheriff's face for a brief second, I realized that he really was confused... Didn't he know the refugee center went down within three weeks of the outbreak...?

Well, come to think of it, he did fire off a bunch of rounds in the street, a big no-no for this world, unless you felt like you might not make it out alive otherwise.

So, where the hell has this guy been?

"Got no signal." the African American man, now known as T-Dog, said in a discouraging tone as he twisted the dial on his walkie-talkie. "Maybe the roof-"

Suddenly, before T-Dog could even finish his sentence, loud rounds fired off from above us, causing the entire group to violently flinch. Sounded like a shotgun or a hunting rifle.

"Jesus, is that Dixon up there...?!" Andrea groaned in despair, and I swear my racing heart seemed to halt completely.

"Did you just say..." My words came out breathlessly, but before I could utter the last, most important one, we were all being rushed toward a dark, tall stairwell that led up to the roof.

Dixon...

xxxxxx

.:Raelyn | Age 7:.

My momma said I was accident. She was real young when she had me, and I deserved better than her. I didn't exactly know what it meant, but it was what was makin' her send me away.

I didn't wanna move across Georgia and live with Aunt Laura... She was old, and her house smelled like cigarettes. It was so boring there, and all the kids were buttheads.

But if I wouldn't have left my momma and moved away, I never woulda met my best friend in the whole world... The boy with the Georgia blue eyes.

xxx

It was real hot that summer, but I was always outside. I hated bein' home with my Aunt Laura. All she did was sit around, watchin' her talk shows and her soap operas, cloudin' the house in cigarette smoke.

So I'd leave the house when I got up in the morning, and didn't go home 'till I was ready to go to bed. Aunt Laura didn't exactly care much, she didn't cook dinner or nothin'. I usually took care of that for myself. As long as I wasn' t buggin' her or interuptin' her shows, she was happy.

Durin' the school year, the only thing that was different was that I better have had my butt in class every day, whether I slept or not the night before. I mean, unless I was pukin' up blood or somethin'... That might be kinda cool.

Today, the clouds were coverin' up the sun, so it wasn't as hot as it usually was. I looked up to the sky, hopin' that maybe it would rain... That way I could dig up some worms and go fishin' in the creek down Johnson Road.

Most girls my age didn't like me because... Well, I wasn't very girly, I guess. I never liked wearin' frilly dresses or puttin' my hair in pigtails. I just liked my shorts or jeans and my t-shirts, and I always thought my plain, straight blonde hair looked better down over my shoulders.

And I wasn't afraid to get dirty, or pick up worms and frogs. At recess at school, all the girls squealed and ran away from me when I tried to show 'em all the cool creepy crawlies I dug up. For a while, it hurt my feelings, but I got over it.

So, I tried to be friends with the boys instead. But they didn't like me much, neither. You'd think so, since I liked mud and worms and fishin'.

They didn't wanna be friends with me 'cause I wasn' t scared to fight 'em if they teased me, which they did. A lot.

The boys were always real mean to me... they called me names, spit at me, threw rocks at me... But I was meaner. It didn't take much to light my fire, and since summer break started just two weeks ago, I'd already taken down a few boys. Most of 'em were my age, but some were bigger and older than me.

I didn't care, though. I wasn' t scared of 'em. They could hit me and kick me and throw me down to the ground as many times as they wanted, but they never beat me. They only made me madder.

What won me my fights was my never ending energy. I could bounce up a million times, goin' for the face every one of those times. Even if I came out with some cuts and bruises or a bloody nose, the boy I was fightin' had it worse. Usually black eyes or busted lips, maybe a broken tooth if I really got some good shots in.

For a scrawny seven year old girl, I was pretty tough. And I was proud of that.

The tires on my old red bike flew down Thomas Drive, the long, hilly road my Aunt Laura's house was on. We lived right smack dab in the middle of the Georgia country side, so the roads were long and curvy, paved through the rollin' hills. People out here liked their privacy, so the houses were pretty spaced apart. Some were even built deep into the woods, and you could hardly even see 'em from the road... The long gravel driveways were the only clues that pointed 'em out.

I knew it was gonna rain. I could smell it in the cool air that was rushin' in, burstin' through the tall, weepy willows that lined the road on each side, forming together like a tunnel. Their droopy, mossy branches swayed all around, almost like they were dancin'.

I felt a smile rest on my lips as I pedaled along, heading for my favorite spot to dig up worms; an old, dried up river bed in the middle of the woods at the end of the street. Once the rain touched it, the crusty, cracked dirt would melt into mushy, gooey mud... Worm paradise.

I rounded the corner on my bike, nearing the end of the street. I knew I was close to the spot where I usually dropped my bike and disappeared into the trees, because I could see the old, empty blue house at the edge of the field... Except today, it wasn't empty. I slowed my pedaling, and stared over the barbed wire fence as I drifted closer.

There was a small moving truck in the driveway of the house, along with a regular old blue Ford... And the porch light was on. Someone was obviously movin' in, but I didn't see any people... Maybe some new, nicer kids were movin' in that I could be friends with?

But probably not. All the kids around here were the same, new ones wouldn't be any different. So, I just looked straight ahead and continued on my way.

It wasn't much further past the edge of the field before I slowed to a stop, throwing my bike down at the edge of the trees and tromping through the grass... But something suddenly tripped me, throwing me forwards and onto my hands and knees with a loud 'thud'.

I grumbled to myself as I stood up and brushed the grass blades from my scraped up palms, turnin' and searchin' for what had caught me.

It was another bike, a green one with black handle bars, totally hidden by the tall grass. I made a face at it... That meant someone else was around here.

"Stupid bike..." I huffed at the hunk of metal before makin' my way back into the trees.

I didn't get too far before I heard somethin'. I stopped movin', held my breath and listened... It sounded like someone cryin'. I kept my footsteps as quiet as I could manage, trackin' the sound through the trees.

Finally, I spotted 'im. His back was to me, but I could tell just by how big he was that he was a few years older than I was. All I could see of him was his black t-shirt and scruffy brown hair... And now that I was close enough, I could definitely tell it was him that was cryin'.

He hadn't noticed me standin' there yet, and I thought about turnin' around and leavin'... But instead, I decided to say somethin'.

"Hey," My small voice piped up, "Boy."

I felt stupid callin' him 'Boy', but I didn't know his name so I didn't really know quite what else to call him.

He instantly whirled around at the sound of my voice, and I got a good look at his face. He was probably 10 or 11, and his hair was shaggy and fell in his face, stuck to his cheeks where his tears ran down. His eyes were red and puffy from cryin', but what I noticed about them more than anything was that they were blue... Not just any kind of blue, neither.

Some sorta clear, crystal blue that I had never seen before. For some reason, I just couldn't stop starin', not even when the boy twisted his face up at me in a hateful scowl.

It wasn't until then that I noticed the dark purple bruise on his left cheek.

"Whadda ya want, little girl?" He spat at me, his swampy southern drawl even thicker than mine. "Git the hell away from me."

I felt my eyebrows scrunch up at his poison soaked words. Why was everybody so damn mean?

"Why're you cryin'?" I asked him simply, tryin' just one more time to be nice.

"What're ya, stupid? Deaf?!" The boy raised his voice, his entire face burnin' red with anger. He clenched his fingers around the dirt and rocks on the ground, "I SAID GIT!"

His voice cracked as he hurled his handful of the forest floor right at my head, and I threw my arms up to block it. Still, some grains of sand found their way into my eyes and mouth.

I sputtered and blinked my eyes rapidly, finally giving the boy my meanest glare. Now he made me mad.

"I was just tryin' to be nice, you big dumb idiot!" I shouted at him as I balled my hands into fists at my sides, "You sound like a little girl, cryin' out here all alone. Sissy."

I knew that comment would push some kinda button of his. No boy liked to be called a little girl or a sissy.

"What'd you say ta me?!" The boy growled as he scrambled to his feet, scowlin' down at me. He was tall and lanky, probably six inches taller than me.

"I said, you sound like a little girl." I repeated myself matter-of-factly, steppin' closer to the boy and starin' him right in the eyes. "Why dontcha run home and cry to your momma-"

All of a sudden, two hands made contact with my shoulders, shoving me down hard to the ground. I yelped as my rear end hit the dirt, staring up at the boy with wide eyes.

His face was dark, his eyes furious and his chin quivering. More tears were flowin' from his blue eyes now, and he didn't even try to stop 'em.

"My momma's dead, you stupid girl..." He whispered to me before tearin' off through the woods, disappearin' out of my sight.

xxxxxx

It had been two days since I had seen that boy in the woods. I had rode past the spot where I saw his bike, maybe thinkin' I'd see it again, but I didn't. The boy was a stranger to me, but for some reason I felt guilty about what I said to 'im. If his momma really was dead, I shouldn't have said what I did... I was mean, but I didn't wanna be THAT mean.

Someone losin' their momma's too sad to be mean about.

After the fifth time I rode by the spot near the woods on my bike, though, I gave up. He wouldn't come back here, not after that.

Instead, I kept on goin' down into town. I had a few quarters to get a soda with, and I was dyin' of thirst. Luckily, the ride into town from the end of Thomas Drive was a short one, only about 10 minutes.

I pulled up to the grocery store just passed the first traffic light in no time, parking my bike in the bike racks. Inside, the line wasn't long, so I picked out my can of sprite, paid the store clerk, and walked back outside as I cracked it open.

The green can was empty before I even got back to my bike... I must have really been thirsty. As I passed a trash can, I crumpled the can and tossed it inside.

But when I rounded the corner of the store to get back to my bike, my heart sank. Standing around it were three older boys, fourth graders... Well, soon to be fifth graders. I recognized the one in the middle as Charley Randall, a stocky, red haired boy with brown eyes and a gap between his teeth.

I inwardly gulped as they stared me down, keeping my tough exterior showing. I remembered about a week ago when I had punched Charley's little brother, Blake's lights out for poppin' my front bike tire. That had to be what they were here for... Musta followed me somehow.

"Hey, guys, look!" Charley said to his two buddies, pretendin' like he wasn't expectin' to see me, "It's the little witch who gave my baby brother a broken nose."

"Oh, yea," his friend on the left, Billy, played along, leanin' forward on the handles of his bike. "That is her, ain't it?"

"She don't look so tough." the friend to the right, Jeff, pointed out with a stupid grin.

I scoffed, walkin' right up to 'em and makin' a grab for my bike, but they were blockin' it in.

"If I ain't so tough, then how come Blake got beat up by a girl?" I taunted, only earnin' me a shove backwards from Charley.

"What, ya want yer bike, little girl?" Charley laughed and teased me, "Well, come git it, then!"

So I kept grabbin' for the handles, and the three boys just kept shovin' me back, makin' me angrier and angrier. Finally, I had enough. I bounced back from Charley's hands as he shoved me for the third time, rearing my foot back and kicking him hard in each of his shins.

He howled in pain, hopping up and down and getting all tangled in his bike, catching his two friends off guard and losing his focus on me. While I had my chance, I ripped my bike away from them, got a running start and hopped on, already in motion as I placed my feet on the pedals.

But of course, my little attack hadn't kept the three older boys busy for long. When I looked back behind me, they were hot on my tail, pedalin' their bikes after me as I raced up Thomas Drive.

"You ain't gonna git away, girl!" One of them shouted from behind me, soundin' real close.

I pedaled as fast as I could, tryin' to lose 'em, but they were faster than me. Billy and Jeff managed to zoom passed me, halting their bikes in front of me, forcing me to slam my own brakes. I felt myself wobble on my bike, but before I even had a chance to fall, a pair of hands was ripping me to the ground by my long, blonde hair.

Then came the kicking. All three of them were standing around me, jutting their feet into my stomach and sides from all directions, cacklin' with laughter. I was a tough girl, but I couldn't take on three older boys at once... Especially when they all had me on the ground.

The best I could do was cover my head with my arms, curl into a ball, and wait until they were done. It hurt real bad, them kickin' me, but I wasn't gonna cry. I know that's what they wanted, and I wouldn't do it.

"Hey, man, what if someone sees us?" Billy's voice piped up, suddenly sounding worried. I could feel that his foot was out of the loop now. "We're standin' right in front of a house."

"Chill out, Billy, no one lives in that house." Charley grunted back.

But all of a sudden, a shout rang out from a distance away.

"HEY!" it was a boy's voice, and it sounded so familiar, "GIT OFF 'ER!"

Charley, Jeff, and Billy sounded flustered, and I could hear their bikes scrapin' against the road as they picked 'em up and rode away. Meanwhile, footsteps were rushin' up to me from my left, and I could hear that voice again... I still hadn't unwrapped my arms from my head.

"BUNCH'A COWARDS!" The voice yelled out, then got softer as it spoke to me, "Hey, you all right?"

Wait... I suddenly knew the voice. I slowly lifted my head out of my arms to come face to face with those Georgia blue eyes and that scruffy brown hair. It was the boy I'd seen in the woods, only now his face wasn't all red and puffy...

I slowly sat up. He looked just as surprised to see me as I felt to see him.

"... It's you.." The boy mumbled, narrowing eyes at me just a little.

"Yea..." I replied back, not really knowin' what else to say. But as I sat there and chewed on my bottom lip, I thought of somethin'. "Um... I'm sorry... For what I said to ya... Y'know, about yer momma. If she really is dead, that was real mean of me to say... Too mean."

The boy stared into my eyes for a few seconds before lookin' down at the ground from where he was kneelin'.

"She is." He whispered flatly.

"At least she's an Angel now." I said to him, and as he glanced back up at me, lookin' a little confused, I smiled. "Anyways, thanks fer helpin' me. My name's Raelyn."

"You got a funny name." He told me, but I could see a very small smile startin' to pull at his lips, "I'm Daryl."

I smiled and scrunched up my face at the same time.

"'Daryl'..." I repeated thoughtfully, "And you think I'm the one with the funny name."

He rolled his blue eyes at me before standin' up and offerin' his hand to help me to my feet. I reached up and grasped it, his palm feeling a little rough and sweaty in mine.

"Where'd you come from, anyway?" I asked Daryl, and he turned and pointed toward the blue house at the end of the field. I hadn't realized where we were until that moment.

"My house." He told me, turning back to look at me, "Just moved in the other day with my dad and my brother."

"Ohhh, so you're the one that moved into that old house! I saw the moving truck." I said as I straightened out my tangled hair.

"Yup..." Daryl replied with a weak smile, before sighing and running his hand through his shaggy brown hair, "Well, I best be gittin' home 'fore my daddy has another fit."

I couldn't help but wonder what that meant as Daryl turned around and headed back toward the house, turnin' over his shoulder and callin' out to me, "See ya around, Raelyn."

I waved to him, waitin' a second before callin' out to him again.

"... Hey, Daryl?"

He stopped and turned, about a third of the way across the field now. "Yea?"

"Do you, um..." I stammered a little nervously as I bent down to pick up my bike, "Do you maybe wanna go fishin' with me tomorrow mornin'? I got an extra pole."

There was a pause as Daryl stood there blinkin' at me, lookin' dumbfounded. I felt stupid, of course he didn't wanna go fishin' with me. We were strangers, and I was just some little girl on a bike...

I was just about to change my mind, tell Daryl to forget what I said, and tear down the street on my bike, when he smiled at me.

"Yea, sure." He replied, "That sounds like fun."

I felt a happiness inside me like I had never felt before, my smile seeming like it might grow too big and crack my face in half.

"Okay!" I said, a little too excited, so I toned it down a little, "I'll be back here at... 8:00?"

He nodded once, then we exchanged one more wave before I set off for home, feeling warm and giddy inside. I just couldn't stop smilin'.

Did I really just make a friend...?

xxx

To be continued...

xxx


	3. Chapter Two

.:Raelyn | Age 27 *Present*:.

The boomin' sound of the rifle rounds explodin' into the air echoed down into the dark, narrow stairwell in even bursts.

It seemed like everything was happenin' in slow motion as I trailed after this group of strangers, scramblin' our way upwards. My heart pounded in my ears, and I kept my eyes glued to a sliver of light that peeked through the crack of the door leading to the roof.

My mind was focused on that one crucial word that had come out of Andrea's mouth just a few seconds ago... Dixon.

Could she really be talkin' about one of my best friends? One of the Dixon boys, who I had been hopelessly searchin' for ever since this stupid bullshit first started? Maybe it was some other guy with the same last name...

But somethin' in my gut told me it was one of them. I couldn't help but hope it was Daryl...

I had somehow managed to discover everyone's names just listenin' to them talk to each other, and T-Dog was first to burst out onto the roof, followed by Morales, the Hispanic man.

I was one of the last ones to trickle out from the stairwell and onto the rooftop, right behind Andrea and Jacqui, the African American woman. The bullets were still firin', piercin' the air and workin' the group into a frenzy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Merle, are you crazy?!" Morales shouted from somewhere across the roof top.

My poundin' heart skidded to a screechin' halt. Did I just hear that right...? I had to have heard it right. He said Merle... Merle Dixon. My knees felt like they would buckle under my weight at any second.

"Merle...? " I muttered just loud enough for Jacqui to hear, feelin' my eyes grow wide.

"You should be more polite to a man with a gun!" A grizzly, swampy voice hollered back, followed by a dopey chuckle. "Only common sense."

That was him. That was definitely Merle... This had to be some sorta cruel dream. I'd be wakin' up in that little nook in the ceilin' any minute now...

But as my weak legs carried me forward and my arms absent mindedly nudged everyone out of the way, I knew this was real.

"Merle...?!" My voice croaked out, and finally as I pushed past Glenn and Rick, the two men who found me, I saw him.

Standin' up on the roof's ledge, holdin' a hunting rifle, was a tall, stalky redneck, dressed in jeans, boots, a black tank top with white bleach stains and a faded leather vest. His grayin' blonde hair was buzzed short, and a layer of scruff coated his cheeks and chin.

When I found his blue eyes with my green ones, I felt a jolt surge up my spine. It was really him. For a moment, I was slightly disappointed that it hadn't been Daryl... But just seein' Merle standin' there alive and well, someone who wasn't a total stranger to me... It was the best damn feelin' in the world.

"Holy shit," Merle said as a familier grin formed on his lips that was so contagious to me, "That ain't my little Rae'a sunshine, is it...?!"

He hopped down from the ledge, rifle in hand, gruntin' as his feet took the impact of his weight hittin' the cement. I quickly staggered over to him, throwin' my arms around his middle before his feet barely touched the ground.

Everyone else on the roof stood with their mouths shut, starin' at Merle and I in confusion. Andrea and Jacqui seemed like they were more disgusted than confused, but I just ignored them.

"We thought you were dead, girl!" Merle told me as he pulled me out of the embrace by my shoulders. "Looked for ya fer weeks b'fore we just assumed."

"I'm so glad to see you!" I breathed, smilin' a real smile for the first time in what felt like forever. Then, my lips fell flat again. "Daryl... Is he...?"

"My baby brother's just fine." Merle assured me, placin' his free hand on my head and rufflin' my already grungy hair. "Turned into a little asshole since you went missin', keeps to 'imself most' a the time. But he's alive."

A wave of relief like I'd never felt before washed over my body. Daryl was alive... All those weeks I spent wonderin' what had happened to him... To know he was alive was the best reward I could ever think of.

Other than seein' him, of course... But now that we were all trapped on the roof of this damn department store, with every geek from miles around poundin' at the doors straight below us... I wasn't sure I'd make it out alive for that to happen.

So much for thinkin' that findin' people was the safer bet.

"I don't mean to break up whatever kinda reunion this is," T-Dog's frantic, angry voice suddenly snapped from behind me, "But just what the HELL is the matter with you, Dixon?! You wastin' bullets we ain't even got-"

Suddenly, Merle held the rifle straight up in the air, firin' a single shot. The loud crack of the bullet exitin' the barrel caught everyone off guard. I flinched and threw my arms over my head, and I could hear Andrea and Jacqui squealin'.

"Whoops," Merle said in mock innocence, "Ya mean like that?"

"Merle...!" I hissed, but T-Dog was already shoutin' over me.

"Man, you bringin' all them geeks closer to us, just chill!" He stared at Merle intensely.

The man I grew up with raised his eyebrows, showin' the wrinkles in his forehead. He took a few steps closer to T-Dog, who stood his ground. Merle had always been... Well, a little racist.

I got a bad feelin' in the pit of my stomach, knowin' exactly how this was about to go down.

"Hey, now, I've had this taco vendor on my ass all day, and now I'm supposed to take orders from you?" Merle said boldly as he motioned from Morales, then back to T-Dog, "I don't think so. That'll be the day."

"That'll be the day...?" T-Dog repeated, narrowin' his eyes.

"Merle, come on, don't-" I groaned, glancin' around at everyone's uneasy faces.

This was definitely not the time or the place for this shit

I walked up behind him and grabbed his arm, but he shrugged me off and gripped the rifle in both hands.

"Not now, sweetheart, big boys are talkin'." He scoffed down at me over his shoulder, earnin' a glare back from me.

I absolutely hated when he talked down to me like that.

"I think you should listen to your friend, Dixon." Morales warned Merle in a serious tone.

"No, no!" T-Dog piped up, holdin' his hand up in agitation, "I wanna hear this. You got somethin' that you wanna tell me?"

"C'mon, T-Dog, just leave it-" Morales urged, but T-Dog wasn't having it.

"Naw, man!" He growled, glarin' fiercely at Merle.

"Merle, just relax, okay?" Glenn spoke up, drawin' the attention of both Rick and I, "We've got enough trouble..."

He stared at Merle hopefully, but his attempt at bein' the mediator did no good. Merle ignored him completely, smirkin' at T-Dog and takin' a step closer to him.

"Ya wanna know the day...?" He muttered, and T-Dog nodded his head. "Well, I'll tell ya... The day I start takin' orders from you is the day I take orders from a ni-"

Before the full word even left Merle's mouth, T-Dog threw a fist. In the blink of an eye, Merle ducked his head to dodge the blow, and nailed T-Dog in the face with the butt of the rifle, then tossed it aside to use his fists.

The grizzly redneck laid a few kicks into T-Dog's side, workin' the group into a frenzy before Rick leapt into action.

"C'mon Merle, that's enough-!" The sheriff said firmly, stepping to Merle and trying to reason with him, but it only earned him a swift punch to the jaw.

This time, even I let out a girly shriek, throwin' my hands over my mouth as Rick toppled to the ground, and we all watched a full on brawl unfold in front of our eyes. Everyone else seemed shocked and horrified, but this wasn't the first time I'd seen Merle wail on someone.

My first reflex when Merle pinned T-Dog to the ground and started beatin' his face in was to dive in, jump on his back and try to pry him away.

"Merle, you stupid son of a bitch, stop it-!" I shouted, when Merle suddenly whipped his elbow back and caught my lower lip. "Aah...! You fucker-!"

I growled in anger as the taste of iron filled my mouth, rearin' my own fist back, about to pop the oldest Dixon brother in the back of the head.

Before I could do that, though, a pair of thick arms wrapped around my waist, yankin' me away from the fight. I thrashed about, my anger searin' and bubblin' as I tried to break free.

"Let go of me!" I grunted through clenched teeth, "Get the fuck off me...!"

"Chill, just chill out!" Morales's Hispanic accent breathed hoarsely into my ear, above the screams of everyone else, "We don't need a three man brawl goin' on. I'm not putting you down if you're just gonna jump back in there!"

I struggled a little more, but finally let out an irritated sigh and relaxed my body. When Morales set me down on my feet, I shot a glare up in his direction.

Merle was really givin' it to T-Dog, poundin' his fist into his face over and over as everyone stared in horror. When Merle pulled out a handgun and pointed it in T-Dog's face, though, everything took a different turn.

"Oh, god, no," Andrea whimpered desperately, staring at T-Dog's terrified, bloody face. "Please, don't...!"

He pulled back the safety, and T-Dog's eyes widened in fear.

"No, Merle!" I shrieked, tryin' to step forward but Morales held me back by my upper arm.

There was a pause as Merle stopped and tossed his eyes around the entire group, until he landed on my face. Desperate and angry, I pleaded him to stop with my eyes. This wasn't right.

Finally, I could see he gave in... But still spat onto T-Dog's chest, laughin' triumphantly as he rubbed it into his t-shirt.

"Yea! That's right." Merle said as he stood up. "Now, we're gonna have ourselves a little pow wow... Talk about who's in charge. I vote me!"

Glenn, Andrea and Jackie rushed in, grabbed T-Dog and dragged him to safety. I glanced over at them before rippin' away from Morales and takin' a step over to Merle.

"Hey, Merle, just what the hell do you think you're-" I started to demand, but totally froze in my tracks as he turned his gun on me.

"Uh-uh, princess," the redneck said to me with a shake of his head, "I know you always gotta put yer two cents in but not this time. I said, I vote me, any one else?"

"You get that God damn gun outta my face, Merle Dixon." I growled, but he didn't lower the gun.

I could see just by the crazy look in his eye that he wasn't exactly the same person anymore... He was Merle, no doubt about it, standin' right there in front of me. But it was like there was a screw loose, or someone else was controlin' his mind or somethin'... And I didn't like it one bit.

"C'mon, let's see a show'a hands!" Merle ordered the group with a stupid grin.

I rolled my eyes as Andrea, Jacqui, and Glenn actually followed his instructions, slowly lifting their hands into the air.

"Don't raise your damn hands!" I snapped at them with furrowed eyebrows.

"Hey now, sugar, don't go stompin' on their own free will!" Merle scolded me, but I just tossed him my dirtiest look and turned away.

"Fuck off, Merle." I spat at him over my shoulder.

He had always been a prick, but not like this. He actually pointed a loaded gun at my head... That wasn't the Merle Dixon I knew.

"All right." Merle's voice continued on behind me, "So that means I'm the boss. Anybody else think different? Hm?"

"Yea." Rick's voice responded to him, followed by the loud 'crack' of a fist slammin' into a jaw, and a series of gasps from the group.

When I whirled around to see what had happened, Rick was in the process of handcuffin' a very dazed lookin' Merle to a thick metal pipe runnin' along the rooftop.

"Who the hell are you, man...?!" Merle groaned as Rick yanked him into a slouch by the collar of his shirt.

He leaned in close to Merle's face, which was already formin' a purple bruise, before growlin' his reply, "Officer friendly."

I sighed and listened to Rick give my childhood best friend a lecture about 'dark meat' and 'white meat', and survivin' together, not apart. That didn't change Merle, though. He simply offered up a half hearted "screw you", and turned his bruised cheek.

"You should be more polite to a man with a gun." Rick suddenly snapped, holdin' his own handgun to Merle's temple. "Only common sense."

My breath tightened in my throat as I watched but didn't move. Somethin' told me Rick wouldn't shoot, and I was right. He held the gun in place for only a few seconds before droppin' his arm away.

"Man, fuckin' cops..." Merle muttered.

"All I am anymore, is a man looking for his wife and son, and I got nothin' to lose." Rick whispered to Merle, his eyes serious, "I'll just give you a minute to think about that."

A part of me wanted to tell Rick his family was most likely dead, but I figured that might be a little cruel.

As Rick patted Merle's pockets, he pulled out somethin' I'd seen him use hundreds of times before... A crack pipe, and a tiny baggie of white crystals. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Even in a world infested with zombies, Merle found a way to feed his horrible drug habbit.

"What're ya gonna do? Arrest me? " Merle taunted with a laugh as Rick strolled over to the ledge of the roof. When he tossed the drugs and pipe over the edge, Merle's attitude completely changed. "Hey, what the hell're ya doin'?! That's my stuff! YOU BETTER PRAY I DON'T GET FREE, YOU HEAR ME, YOU FILTHY PIG?!"

He kept to shoutin' and thrashin' around, yankin' at those handcuffs like he thought they might come off. Rick trailed away as Merle screamed and hollered obscenities at him, and I quickly followed behind.

"Hey, you alright?" I quietly asked the sheriff as we stopped at the other edge of the building. "Got a pretty gnarly bruise under your left eye."

"I've been through worse." Rick grumbled back, "Survived a gunshot wound before all this." He then peered down at my lip, which was still stingin' a little. "What about you? He busted your lip pretty good, there."

I shrugged, tossin' a glance over my shoulder at Merle, who was still strugglin' to yank himself free from that pipe across the rooftop.

"Ain't the first time I've been caught in the middle of one'a Merle Dixon's brawls." I mumbled, avoidin' Rick's piercin' blue eyes as I stared out into the infested streets of Atlanta, "I grew up with 'im... He's always been an asshole, but never like this. This world's changed 'im for the worst, I guess..."

I could feel the sheriff's gaze on my face, tryin' to study the emotions I was so good at hidin'. Before long, he turned his blue eyes out into the streets, and spoke up again.

"I don't know you or Merle personally," Rick began, his voice hushed, "But I'm sure the man you used to know is still in there somewhere... World like this could change anyone."

I turned to look at him now, and smiled softly before turnin' away again.

"I hope so." I replied, suddenly thinkin' of Daryl.

I wondered if the fallin' out of humanity had brought a dark side out in him like it did in Merle...

Suddenly, I could hear footsteps trailin' up from behind. I turned just in time to see Morales strollin' up beside Rick, puttin' the sheriff between us.

"You're not Atlanta PD..." He observed as he leaned his elbows on the roof's ledge, eyein' Rick's tan and brown uniform, "Where you from?"

"Up the road a ways..." Rick replied, squintin' his eyes in the bright sunlight.

"Okay... What about you?" Morales turned his gaze to me, noddin' his head upward in a small flick, "I don't think I caught your name yet."

"Uh..." I stammered, "It's Raelyn. Or just Rae... I'm from... Well, I guess down the road a ways."

The Hispanic man chuckled a little.

"Well, all right, officer friendly, from up the road a ways... And Rae, from down the road a ways... " he cast his gaze out on the walker infested street below,"Welcome to the big city."

.

..

...

..

.

.:Daryl | Age 31 *Present*:.

Seemed like the only thing that kept my mind off all this "end'a the world" bullshit anymore was huntin'.

I'd been out in the woods fer two days now, collectin' squirrels and sleepin' in trees. Today, though, I hit a gold mine; A buck, at least a ten pointer. I'd been trackin' it for miles, ever since I woke up that mornin'.

I managed to nail it in the back with a few arrows, so I knew it was hurtin'. Just had ta be patient.

A few weeks ago, Merle and I stumbled upon a small group'a survivors camped out just a few miles outside'a Atlanta. Neither of us never were much of the friendly type, but we figured combinin' resources with other survivors might be a smart way to go.

Still, didn't mean I had to be buddies with those people. Hell, I'll be honest in sayin' I didn't like not a god damn one of 'em. So I spent most'a my time roamin' the area an' searchin' for food to bring back to camp. In the short periods of time that I was around everyone, though, I kept my conversations brief.

Everyone was always so depressed and on edge, and honestly it drove me fuckin' nuts. I git it, there's dead people walkin' around all over, rippin' livin' people apart and eatin' their insides... That's scary shit. But that was in the city and towns, mostly. Up here, deep in the woods, miles out right next to the old rock quary, we were safe. Geeks hadn't hiked up this far... At least, not yet.

Twigs snapped under my boots and the brush rustled as I made my way through the thick trees. I kept my trusty crossbow aimed forward, ready ta put an arrow in the first thing that crossed me the wrong way; Livin' or dead.

I paused ta study the up-turned dirt on the ground, a sign that the buck had been through there... That, and the dark smudge'a blood on one'a the tree trunks to my right. He was gettin' weaker... Just had ta follow fer a little longer.

I didn't know what it was, but as I reached up to wipe the film'a sweat from my forehead, somethin' reminded me of Rae... My stomach twisted into knots as my mind teased me with her face... Her pretty green eyes, her crooked little smile...

"Stop it, Daryl..." I growled to myself through clenched teeth as I forced the blonde girl that I grew up with outta my head for the millionth time, "She ain't here no more..."

I'd been tellin' myself that for months, ever since Rae got separated from Merle and I back home. It made me sick to think what had probably happened to 'er... I couldn' t picture my best friend, really the only friend I ever had, walkin' around as one'a those droolin', flesh eatin' freaks...

So I pushed 'er memory out of my mind, over and over again. It was finally gettin' easier comin' to terms that I'd never see Rae's face or hear her laugh again, but it had definitely taken time. The first few weeks of the outbreak, when it was just Merle and I, I'd go days without sleeping, searchin' high and low for that damn girl... I was so determined, confident that I'd find 'er... But I never did.

So, I started tellin' myself it was better this way... It was easier. Rae was a tough girl and I knew she could hold 'er own, but if she was around I'd just be worryin' constantly, worryin' about her gettin' hurt or killed, and not bein' able to protect 'er.

Who knows, maybe she fought 'er way through this bullshit and found 'er own group. Or maybe her body was roamin' somewhere, cravin' flesh and blood...

But it didn't matter what had happened to Rae... Whatever it was, I couldn't change it.

All I could do now was worry about my own survival.

.

..

...

..

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To be continued...


	4. Chapter Three

.:Raelyn | 27 *Present*:.

After Merle had been subdued by the handcuffs, it didn't take long for the rest of the group to settle down. For a few minutes, everyone was quiet, stayin' solid in their positions on the roof. Rick, Morales, and I were still slightly separated from the others, still just helplessly watchin' the dead wanderin' around below in broad daylight.

The silence between us creeped me out. It was way too easy to hear the geeks groanin' from the ground, tryin' their hardest to break into this building and sniff us out.

"Hard to believe those things used to be people..." I mumbled to no one really in particular but myself, leanin' over the edge of the building and starin' at the corpses walkin' around in the streets. "Y'know, with names and families... People like us."

Outta the corner of my eye, I could see Rick stiffly nod his head, but Morales was the one to speak up. "Yea, well... I try not to think about it that much."

He ran a hand back through his dark, curly hair and let out a sigh. I couldn't blame him. Thinkin' too much about people ya miss, or gettin' too sensitive about who those things down there used to be could get ya killed now a'days. Always had to be on your toes, couldn't let your emotions get in the way of your survival.

"Look at 'em all..." Rick muttered from next to me, his face twistin' up in a mixture of horror and disgust.

I watched as the walkers swayed back and forth, intertwinin' with one another like a giant sea of rotten flesh and bone. As my eyes warily followed one walkin' corpse to the next, I could feel my stomach churnin'. I swore I could smell their awful stench from all the way up on top of that roof...

"Oh, God," I grunted, pushin' myself away from the wall and fightin' off the urge to gag, "I can't look at 'em anymore..."

I lifted a tremblin' hand to my mouth, closin' my eyes and takin' deep breaths, tryin' to keep whatever was in my stomach down.

"Hold it together, girl." Morales's soft voice suddenly came from behind me, and I felt his hand gently pat my shoulder as he passed me by, on his way back to everyone else in the group.

They were much calmer now, and Merle seemed to accept that he wasn't goin' anywhere without that key in Rick's possession, so he was just sittin' quietly for a change.

"Hey, T-Dog, how's that signal?" Morales called out as I trailed along behind him on top of a metal grate connector, still tryin' to put a little bit of distance between me and these people who were still strangers to me, frankly.

"Like Dixon's brain," T-Dog growled hoarsely, seemin' like he was still in pain from the beatin' just minutes earlier. He twisted the knob on top of the CB in his hand, but all that was comin' out of it was static. "... Weak."

I leaned against the wall a few feet away from Merle, crossin' my arms over my chest and watchin' as he locked eyes with T-Dog for a few solid seconds. Surprisingly enough, he didn't rattle off some smart-ass remark or racial slur. Instead, he simply raised his free hand, and flipped him the bird... Harmless enough.

Morales seemed a little discouraged, lettin' out a sigh and glancin' over the side of the roof where Jackie and Andrea were standin', doin' exactly the same.

"Keep trying." He told T-Dog, just as Rick drifted his way over to the rest of us.

"Why?" Andrea asked dryly, backin' away from the wall and hopelessly shakin' her head, "There's nothing they can do. Not a damn thing."

"Wow, way to be optimistic..." I grumbled, earnin' an evil glare from the strung out blonde woman.

She turned to give Rick one last bitter stare before stompin' over to a group of backpacks layin' a few feet away from Merle, unzipping a pocket on the red one and aimlessly diggin' through it.

"We've just got some people outside the city, is all..." Morales cleared up when Rick and I both stared at him, lookin' puzzled. "There's no refugee center... That's just a pipe dream."

I heard myself snort with a bit of sarcastic laughter at Morales's words. "No shit..."

Rick quickly glanced at me before studyin' the ground over the edge of the building. There was a pause in everyone's conversations, and the low, hungry growls could be heard from the ground where those freaks were still tryin' to bust through the glass doors.

"Well, all right..." The sheriff sighed after thinkin' everything over for a few seconds, "Then we're on our own. It's up to us to find our own way out."

I really thought Mr. Police Officer would have had somethin' better to say than that, so I rolled my eyes and threw my hands up in the air in aggravation.

"I thought we already clarified that?" I snapped, "Seems like we're goin' 'round in circles here. Find our own way out, right? Well do you remember what's down there waitin' for us, Rick?"

I knew I might have been over steppin' my boundaries, but someone had to put it all out on the table. If we were gonna survive this, it had to be thought out carefully. We didn't have any time for test runs or changin' up plans in the middle. Whatever we decided to do had to work on the first try... It was all a game of chance, and there was no goin' back once the chaos started brewin'.

"What other choice do we have?" Rick came back at me, whirlin' around to give me a stone hard stare with his piercin' silvery blue eyes, "If we stay up here on this roof, we'll all die for sure."

He was right, and I knew it. I never tried to tell him he wasn't, but... How the hell were we gonna get ourselves outta this mess? A strangled groan escaped my throat as I tangled my fingers into my untamed blonde hair, pacin' about on top of that metal grate. My thin hips naturally swung back and forth slightly with my steps, makin' my faded red flannel tied around them sway against my thighs.

Merle suddenly chuckled from his seat still handcuffed to the giant metal pipe, just a few feet away.

"Well, these streets ain't safe in this part'a town, from what I hear." He joked with a rye smirk, jinglin' the metal clasped to his wrists slightly. His eyes wandered over to Andrea, who was still crouched in front of her backpack. "Ain't that right, sugar tits?"

At that moment, I think Andrea and I rolled our eyes in perfect unison, although she probably looked a lot more appalled than I did. I'd heard Merle Dixon use that perverted nickname so many times, it didn't even phase me much anymore. He stopped usin' it on me when he realized I wasn't like all the tramps he slobbered over... All it took was one swift right hook to the jaw from me when I was 15, and he got the point real quick.

It was violent, but hey. It earned me respect, so I went with it.

Andrea didn't respond to Merle, and instead just kept lookin' for somethin' in her backpack, God knows what. So, of course, he kept prodin' at 'er.

"Hey... Honey buns." Merle called out to Andrea, "Whadaya say ya get me outta these handcuffs, and we go off somewhere... Y'know, bump some uglies. Gonna die, anyway."

Alright, that time I was disgusted. I turned away, holdin' back a gag that was threatenin' my throat.

"I'd rather." I heard Andrea scoff, followed by her footsteps walkin' away.

Didn't surprise me. No sane woman ever wanted to get with Merle... Gross. Not even in a zombie apocalypse.

He suddenly turned his head over his shoulder and looked right at me, his lips startin' to form that stupid grin that until now, I'd missed more than anything in the world.

But, after his little power trip earlier, I was feelin' more disgusted by the sight of it than anything.

"C'mon, Rae-Rae," The greasy redneck urged me in his best sugary sweet voice that after years of friendship had no affect on me anymore, "Give your ol' buddy Merle a hand, would ya? I'm sure you could use that fine ass'a yers to get that key from-"

"Save it, Merle." I cut him off, crossin' my arms over my chest, "I ain't doin' a damn thing for you. I think it's best you just sit there a while."

I could hear Merle grumblin' somethin' to himself, but I couldn't hear the words over Morales.

"Just this once, Merle's right." He announced to the group, gesturin' over the side of the building, "Saying the streets aren't safe is an understatement."

Suddenly, I remembered a story my Aunt Laura used to tell me to keep me from swimmin' in the ponds after dark. Enormous, mutated gators that lived underneath Atlanta in the sewers swam out into the ponds to feed on little kids who broke the rules and went swimmin'... I know, real nice Auntie I had, huh?

Showed how much she really knew about me, too. I wouldn't dare go swimmin' anywhere, at any time of day... 'cause truth was, I never knew how. Still didn't to this day, but it wasn't somethin' I was ever really open to share with anyone, unless it was completely necessary.

The only ones who knew were Daryl and Merle.

"Ain't there, like, tunnels under the streets?" I piped up to the group, gainin' everyone's attention, "Sewers, I mean... If there were, they'd lead us out of the city, completely underground."

Everyone stared at me for a moment, the idea apparently just dawning on them, too.

"Oh, man..." Morales muttered breathlessly, his eyes wide and his voice urgent, "Glenn! Check the alley, do you see any manhole covers?"

Glenn bounced up onto the metal grate I was standin' on, and I turned my body so he could brush past me. I watched his back as he jogged to the other end of the rooftop, leanin' over the edge and peerin' down into the alleyways.

It didn't take him but two seconds to scan the ground before shakin' his head, turnin' around and boundin' back to us.

"No, they must all be out on the street, where the geeks are." He panted.

For a moment, everyone's hope seemed to dwindle and droop. .. Until Jackie suddenly perked up from next to T-Dog.

"Wait!" She yipped, startlin' me a little and makin' me flinch. "Buildings like these, old ones from the 1920's, often had drainage tunnels built leadin' into the sewers, in case of flood. Down in the subways."

All of us stared at the woman as she rattled off this information from the top of her head, seemin' so sure of herself, as if she were doin' somethin' as simple as recitin' the alphabet.

"How do you know that...?" Rick asked urgently as he stared intently in Jackie's direction.

"It's my job. Well, was." She replied, straightenin' herself up. "I worked in the city's ownin' office."

Everyone was quiet again, simply exchangin' glances. One thought was circlin' around the lot of us; Could this really work? There was only one way to find out... We had to get down to the boiler room, which none of us were jumpin' up and down to do.

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It took a little while, but after windin' up at three dead ends, regroupin' twice and almost killin' each other from our frustration, the small group of us that had set out to find the drainage tunnels wound up right where we needed to be: the boiler room.

It was eerily quiet deep in the bowels of the department store, the only sounds bein' our shoes scufflin' against the cement floor.

Glenn was leadin' the way with a flashlight, with Jackie followin' close behind. I followed behind Rick, also wieldin' a bright light, with Andrea and Morales last in line. In front of us, I could see a big fenced off square with red and yellow caution signs plastered everywhere.

As we approached it, each of us leanin' over the bars and peerin' down into what looked like a black pit with a ladder leadin' downwards into nothin', Morales broke our silence.

"This is it...?" He asked skeptically, Rick guiding his sight for him with the bright glow of his flashlight, "Are you sure...?"

Glenn nodded his head, aimin' his own flashlight down into the tunnel, his face lookin' real nervous. "Yea... I scoped this place out really good last time I was here. It's the only thing in the building that goes down... But I've never gone down it before. Who would want to, right?"

"Yea..." I muttered, and when I glanced up from the dark pit, I could see everyone else's eyes were pointed right at Glenn.

No one said a word as he darted his gaze from each of our faces in a matter of seconds. He frowned, gulpin' and noddin' his head as he realized what we were tryin' to say to him, without actually speakin'.

"Oh, okay." He grumbled, lookin' warily back down into the tunnel below us, "... Great."

Andrea suddenly spoke up from next to me, her voice soft and gentle, like she was tryin' to offer up some sorta comfort, "We'll be right behind you-"

"No, you won't!" Glenn snapped before she could even finish her sentence, and I whipped my head around to stare at him with wide eyes. "Not you."

Lookin' to Andrea now, I could tell she was offended. She scowled at Glenn from across the pit, leanin' forward a little as she growled, "Why not me? You think I can't?"

Glenn's face suddenly softened, almost making him look innocent, and his voice got real quiet with his reply, "I-I didn't say that... That's not what I meant..."

He glanced around at everyone still starin' at him with eyes wide as dinner plates. I hadn't known the kid for more than two hours, and I could already tell it wasn't like him to go yellin' at someone like that. He seemed like he was almost embarrassed, shrinkin' back from our eyes until Rick stepped up, placin' an encouraging hand on his shoulder.

"Speak your mind." He said firmly, noddin' his head at Glenn, which seemed to give him a little more confidence.

Glenn gave one last anxious glance around the group, before takin' a deep breath, "Look..." He said hesitantly, "Until now, I always came here alone. Get in, grab a few things, get out. Smooth sailing every time. The FIRST time I bring a group, everything goes to hell."

He paused, his shoulders seemin' to droop a little in relief as he watched our understandin' expressions. We all kept quiet, lettin' Glenn keep explainin' his point.

"I don't mean any offense, Andrea, when I say I don't want you going down behind me..." He assured the woman behind me, who nodded her head in an apologetic way. "I mean the same for everyone, really. If I go down there and run into trouble, I need to be able to get out fast. I can't have all of you behind me bogging up the tunnel and getting me killed."

"So you're just gonna go down there alone?" Jackie said fearfully as she gazed down at the deep tunnel.

"No," Glenn replied with a shake of his head, "I'll take one of you... Rae, I think it should be you."

My head snapped up from where I was lost starin' into the tunnel, wonderin' what could possibly be waitin' down there for anyone to walk by. "What? Me?"

I stared at him in disbelief as he nodded, seemin' so sure of himself, which was more than I could say for myself.

"Yup... You and I are the smallest people here." Glenn explained, "We'll be able to turn around and run the fastest, if we end up having to run for our lives."

My stomach twisted into knots as he spoke, soundin' like it was no big deal that there could be flesh eatin' monsters down inside these drainage tunnels.

"Gee, way to sell me on this plan of yours..." I grumbled, lettin' out a sigh as I ran my hand through my tangled hair, "All right, I'll go with ya. But I need a weapon, or at least ammo for this one." I lifted the hem of my tank top just slightly so the handle of my pistol was visible, jutting up from the waistband of my jeans.

"I've got three bullets here... I think they'll work for that gun." Morales offered up, diggin' his pocket and pullin' out three shiney pieces of silver. He dropped 'em into my hand and nodded to me. "Better than nothing, right?"

"Yea...Thanks." I mumbled gratefully, loadin' them into the pistol. Luckily, they fit.

"Here, take this, too." Jackie piped up, scurryin' off to the side in the shadows and pickin' somethin' up off the ground. When she moved towards me back into the light, I could see she was holdin' a thick lead pipe that had probably fallen down from the plumbin' above us.

I grabbed it from her hands, givin' it a good swing through the air. "That'll do some damage." I said with a slight grin, and a nod in Jackie's direction. "Thank ya, ma'am."

"All right, someone take my backpack..." Glenn spoke up, shruggin' his pack from his shoulders and handin' it off to Rick, "Why don't you and Andrea stand watch by the doors? Everyone else keep watch, keep an ear out for Rae and I... and just be careful. Shout down to us if something happens... Anything."

Rick nodded and handed me his flashlight.

"Be careful down there..." He mumbled to me, givin' me a sharp look that he tossed over to Glenn before he led Andrea out of the boiler room.

Everyone else scattered, and Glenn and I were left starin' down into the blackness of the drainage tunnel.

"We're really goin' in there, huh..." I mumbled to the young Asian man next to me, who nodded grimly.

"Yup..." He replied before scootin' around the outside of the metal bars and steppin' down onto the ladder, "Somehow, I'm always the one getting volunteered to do this kinda stuff."

I made a face as I watched Glenn disappear into the shadows, then reluctantly stepped over the side after him, movin' downward on the ladder and keepin' a tight grip on that metal pipe.

"How the hell did I get roped into it..."

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.:Raelyn | Age 9:.

Even from the road, which was pretty far away from Daryl's house, I could hear the screamin'. I could never hear exactly what was bein' said, but I could always make out the voices. Daryl's was the easiest for me to recognize... He was my best and only friend, after all.

The only other voices were Daryl's dad, and sometimes his big brother, Merle, who I'd only seen there once or twice. He was way older than me, so he was usually out in his truck with his friends.

I'd never been inside Daryl's house, not once in the two years that we'd been friends. He wouldn't let me even set food past his front fence, which was at least a football field away from his doorstep. He always said he didn't want me goin' in there and seein' anything I shouldn't be seein'.

It always made me wonder what was in there... Maybe they were hidin' somethin', like an alien or a dinosaur bone. But in my heart, I knew it was just 'cause his daddy was so mean, and he didn' t want me to meet him.

So, usually I'd ride my bike by his house, and wait behind one of he big willows for him to come outside, just like today. It was early in the mornin', it had rained somethin' awful the night before, and we were supposed to go fishin' in the creek. Worms were gonna be real easy to find in all the fresh mud.

I tried real hard to ignore the hollerin' comin' from behind the walls of the old blue house, but after almost an hour of waitin', I still hadn't seen a sign of Daryl, and the noise was gettin' a little hard to just brush off my shoulder. It made me wonder just how long a person could keep screamin' without losin' their voice...

With one last glance toward the shadowy house, I let out a sigh, then ripped my ratty blue backpack open. I dug around in the biggest pocket until I found my notebook, folded up and jammed all the way at bottom, right underneath my social studies book. The paper made a loud tearing sound as I snatched it from the spiral binding, usin' my favorite purple pen to scribble a message onto the front:

"Meet me at the big rock underneath the oak tree by the creek. I'll wait an hour - Rae"

Short, sweet, and to the point. I stuck the pen back in my backpack, folded the jagged piece of notebook paper into a sloppy square, and stuck it down into the thick branches of the willow tree we always met in front of.

When I was sure it would stay there no matter how strong the breeze was, I hopped onto my bike and pedaled as fast as I could toward town. I wanted to get as far away from that horrible screamin' as possible... Daryl never told me anything about his daddy or his life at home, but I knew it wasn't good. It couldn't be, why else would he wanna hide it from me?

Why else would there be screamin' comin' from behind those walls day and night, angry screamin' full of hateful names and words...

Not to mention, Daryl always had cuts and bruises, sometimes even a busted lip or one of his eyes swollen shut... I knew his daddy did it to him, even though he always tried to tell me he fell, or walked into somethin'. It was so obvious to me, the way he got all angry and sensitive when I asked him about it.

But I knew the truth, and even though he tried to act like it was a secret, he knew I knew.

I knew his daddy beat him, and it really made me mad... It made me boilin' mad to know someone, whether it was his own daddy or not, was hurtin' my best friend, my only friend in the whole world, and there was nothin' I could do about it... Hell, I was just the skinny little blonde haired girl from down the road. What was I gonna do to protect Daryl, a boy twice my size, from a grown up?

The best I could do was this: Be his friend. Be there for him as best I could, and that's what I'd been doin' for the past two years. That's was what my life was about... Daryl, and bein' his friend. Gettin' outta school and always seein' him waitin' on the old railroad tracks that passed through the middle of town, 'cause he was older than me by four years, so we were never in the same school at the same time. He always got out an hour earlier or an hour later, didn't wanna go home, and waited for me there so we could hang out for the rest of the day.

It was those moments I waited for every day... Daryl gave me somethin' to look forward to. He wasn't like other kids around here, he actually liked hangin' around me and talkin' to me, even if all we were doin' was tellin' stupid knock knock jokes and sittin' by the creek, tossin' rocks in to see who could make the biggest splash. I loved my days with the shaggy haired, blue-eyed Dixon boy, and I always felt empty and sorta lost when I didn't see him. I didn't really know how to pass my time when he wasn't around... Nothin' was as fun without him.

It was the beginnin' of fall in Georgia, and everything was startin' to look real pretty... The leaves on the trees were changin' from green to orange and red, fallin' from the branches and layin' all over the ground. The sky was a gloomy gray up against the brightly colored leaves, and the breezes that passed through were actually pretty chilly. They bitterly nipped at my face as my bike carried me down the street, and I was thankful for my thick, pink sweater with Minnie Mouse on the front... Even if Daryl said it was the ugliest sweatshirt he'd ever seen.

It wasn't mine, it was my cousin Martha's, and she'd left it at my Aunt Laura's house on thanksgivin' three years ago. It kept me warm, and that's all I really cared about.

My wheels buzzed as I whirled through town, dodgin' parked cars and fire hydrants, even skiddin' around a pair of old ladies walkin' from the grocery store holdin' plastic bags full of bread and eggs.

I smirked as I heard both of them yellin' at me to slow down, demandin' to know where my helmet was. Of course, I just kept on goin', headin' towards the woods to the spot that I'd told Daryl to meet me.

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It was always real quiet out in the woods, and that's why I liked it so much... No cars goin' by, no one talkin' unless it was me or Daryl if he was with me... Just birds chirpin', leaves brushin' together and the creek tricklin'. In a few more weeks, the water would be frozen over, and Daryl and I would have to wait months before we could fish again. It was a bummer, but at the same time, I was glad when the creek froze over... Don't get me wrong, I loved fishin'. It was one of my favorite things to do.

But I couldn't swim... No one ever taught me, and I never really wanted to try and teach myself... The fear of drownin' always got to me.

The creek was pretty deep, so sometimes it made me nervous to be around it... And it didn't help that Daryl was always tryin' to get me to go swimmin', and I had to make up lies 'cause I was too embarrassed to tell him.

I probably waited by that big rock for more than an hour, waitin' to see Daryl come trudgin' through the trees toward me. When the sun was up in the middle of the sky, shinin' down on me from between the tree branches, I decided he wasn't comin'.

"Oh, well..." I sighed in disappointment, standin' up from my spot in on the ground next to the boulder.

The dirt was still damp from the rain the night before, and had left little wet spots on the back of my faded jeans. I didn't really care, though, and just sorta half heartedly brushed them off.

Just as I was about to make my way back uphill through the woods to get my bike and ride home, I heard footsteps tearin' through the brush to my right.

My heart pounded and my eyes darted around for the few seconds that I couldn't see anything, just listenin' to the noise get louder. Sure enough, though, I caught sight of a familiar red jacket, and a head of scruffy light brown hair peepin' through the trees.

"Daryl? Is that you?" I called out. I knew it was him, but I just needed to make sure, for some reason.

"Nah, Christopher Columbus."

I rolled my eyes at his sarcastic comeback, but found myself smilin'. I recognized his twangy, kinda husky voice anywhere, and it always made my stomach feel real tingly and warm...

"I was just about to leave, ya know." I told my best friend as I watched him get closer to me.

He was real lanky and kinda tall... well taller than me, at least. My head only reached up to his shoulder. His eyes were as blue as they always were, and stood out against his tan face... When I looked at them, I noticed they were kinda red, and there were dark purple splotches formin' on his neck and shoulders, and he had a good sized cut right above his left eyebrow.

"An' go where?" Daryl asked me as he hopped down over an old fallen tree that had been layin' there since the last big storm we had, about three months ago.

His lips were always pressed into a thin line across his face, like they were now, except in the rare moments when I'd get him to laugh or smile. Sometimes, it was like he was tryin' his hardest not to smile, or frown, or do anything to let ya know how he was feelin'... But somehow, I could always tell.

"I dunno," I replied to Daryl as he walked right up to me, leanin' against the big rock, "Home, I guess."

"Hm." He grunted back to me, kickin' at the dirt and keepin' his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Suddenly, he turned to stare at me, eyein' the big, dopey Minnie Mouse face plastered to my chest. "Still haven't got rid'a that ugly sweater, huh?"

I rolled my eyes at the Dixon boy and reached up to give his shoulder a little shove, gigglin' as I did it. "Shut the hell up, it ain't ugly...! Okay, maybe a little, but it keeps me warm, so you can just suck it."

Daryl suddenly let out a small laugh, and I made sure to watch his sorta crooked smile while I could.

"Y'know, for a little girl, you got a pretty colorful vocabulary." He told me, pushin' himself away from the big rock and kickin' the little ones on the ground toward the creek.

"Yer one to talk, Daryl." I replied to my friend as I followed behind him, tryin' to keep the fact that I had my eyes glued to a black bruise on the back of his neck a secret, "'Cept with you, it's 'fuck this' and 'mother fucker that.'"

"Jesus, girl," Daryl laughed again, "Look at you, just rattlin' off the F word left an' right... Guess I ain't the best influence on ya."

I felt my green eyes roll in my head again. I hated when Daryl said stuff like that, it made me feel like a little kid around him... Okay, I was a little kid, but in my mind I felt just as old as Daryl.

For a little while, we were just quiet. Sittin' there in the woods, tossin' rocks and sticks into the water, and watchin' the splashes. We must'a done that for almost fifteen minutes, and I couldn't stop stealin' glances at Daryl the entire time. The slice in his skin looked pretty deep and was crusty with dried blood, and the bruises seemed like they were gettin' darker with each second that went by.

Finally, I couldn't take just lookin' at him no more.

"Daryl?" My voice spoke up, almost on its own, it felt like.

"Yea?" He replied without lookin' at me.

"... What happened to you...?"

He instantly froze, his shoulder's bunchin' up. My breath caught in my throat as I watched Daryl seem to force himself to relax before replyin' to me.

"Nothin'." He said, his voice so low I could barely hear it.

"That ain't nothin'." I disagreed, shakin' my head of long blonde hair, "Those bruises are real dark, and that don't just happ-"

"I said," Daryl snapped loudly to cut me off as he whirled around to face me, then lowered his voice again,"It's nothin'. I fell, is all."

"Down a few flights'a stairs?" I asked, showin' I didn't believe him one bit. I paused for a second, wonderin' if I should say what I was thinkin' of next... But before I could decide, the words were already comin' out. "Y'know, I can hear the screamin', Daryl... Comin' from yer house."

I looked at the thirteen year old boy standin' a few feet away, my eyes real serious. I was tryin' to study his face, tryin' to see what he was feelin'... But he was real good at hidin' it. He was silent and his ice blue eyes pierced my emerald green ones as I kept talkin'.

"Sometimes, when I'm waitin' for you by the willow, I can ignore it..." I was almost whisperin' now, "But other times, I just can't... Like today. That's why I left you that note..." I paused again, waitin' for him to say somethin', anything. When he didn't, I just kept goin'. "Daryl, it ain't right, what yer daddy does to ya-"

"Shut up, Raelyn." a growl suddenly came from Daryl's throat. His face had changed from flat to scrunched up and scowlin'. "You don't know shit."

"Huh...?" I asked quietly.

"I said ya don't know SHIT!" Daryl erupted at me, his Georgia twang gettin' heavier with his anger. "I told ya nothin' happened, an' that's that. Leave it alone!"

He was takin' angry, stompin' steps toward me, and I just backed up to stay outta his way.

"Why're you lyin' to me, Daryl?!" I demanded desperately.

"'Cause yer just a little girl!" He roared in my direction, "You ain't even ten years old yet, Rae! You don't need to be hearin' or thinkin' about the things that I seen... Things I been through!"

I suddenly felt offended or belittled for some reason, and sneered as I looked up into Daryl's face.

"What, you think just 'cause I'm only nine years old that I don't know about daddies who beat their kids?"

The way Daryl looked at me in that moment after I said those words, I was pretty sure he was thinkin' about killin' me. But I knew he wouldn't really do nothin' so I stood my ground, just starin' at his face. He tried so hard to look scary, scrunchin' up his eyebrows and usin' the fact that he was bigger than me to his advantage... But I wasn't scared'a him. I wasn't scared'a nobody.

Finally, I saw his chin start to quiver a little, and his blue eyes glistened with tears underneath his shaggy brown hair. Without a word, he suddenly turned on his heel and started stormin' away from me, keepin' his head down.

"Daryl...!" I called out to him, suddenly regrettin' everything I'd said, "Daryl! Wait!"

I started to chase after him, and watched as he tossed his head over his shoulder to glare at me. His cheeks were wet and stained in shiny streaks left by tears.

"Screw you, Raelyn." Daryl spat bitterly at me before turnin' back around.

I ignored his words, though, and kept runnin' uphill to catch him. The next thing I knew, I had my arms wrapped around his waist, tightly pulling him against me and pressin' my face into the back of his red jacket. It smelled like musty cigarette smoke and rain, but I didn't care.

"Don't go, Dare." I softly begged into his jacket, "Please? I'm real sorry about what I said, I won't talk about it no more. I promise."

At first, Daryl didn't move, and his body was stiff. But I didn't let go...I was so scared I'd just chased away my best friend, my favorite person in the world, all 'cause of my big mouth... Finally, though, I felt his chest heave a small sigh, causin' his muscles to relax. Daryl quickly drug the sleeve of his jacket across his eyes to dry them before turnin' around to face me.

I dropped my arms from his waist and took a step back, starin' up into his face as he gazed down at me. My heart was poundin' so hard, and it felt like a millennium passed by before Daryl lifted his arm up, and plopped his hand down on my head to rest.

"It's all right, Rae..." He sighed, givin' my hair a ruffle, "Ain't yer fault that yer too smart fer yer own good. But just like ya said, no more talkin' about it. Okay?"

I nodded my head quickly, and Daryl took his hand away, trailin' back down to the creek.

"Hey, Rae?" He said as he bent down to scoop up a rock, then flung it out into the water.

"Yea?" I answered, mimicin' his stone throwin' actions.

Daryl snatched another small rock from the ground, but before he chucked it, he turned his head to me and grinned.

"Knock-knock."

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To be continued...


	5. Chapter Four

.:Raelyn | 27 *Present*:.

Once Glenn and I reached the bottom of the ladder, there was really only one direction to go... Straight forward into the damp, rat infested tunnel that I couldn't see the end of, not even with the help of my flashlight. Chills ran up my spine, pricklin' at the back of my neck as I remembered we were actually about to walk into that... Great idea, this was.

"Okay... Let's go..." Glenn peeped out timidly, makin' me shake my head.

"Hey, I said I'd come with ya, not lead the way." I warned the young Asian man as I motioned my flashlight forward, "You go first."

Glenn sighed but reluctantly set off into the tunnel, and I kept my word, stayin' close behind.

We'd only made it about fives steps before somethin' got caught under my foot, wrigglin' violently.

I gasped loudly as I looked down, realizin' I'd stepped right ontop of a rat. It's squeal was one of the loudest things I'd ever heard, and it scared the livin' daylights outta me. I jumped back instantly, my feet splashin' in the shallow puddles as I braced myself against the wall.

"Little fucker..." I hissed as I pointed my flashlight at the rodent just in time to catch his tail as he scampered away. I glanced up to see Glenn standin' aside, holdin' back chuckles as I regrouped myself, "What're you laughin' at?"

"Nothing." Glenn replied over his shoulder as we started walkin' again. "It's just you act pretty tough, for a girl. Didn't think you'd be scared of rats."

"I ain't scared of 'em." I corrected Glenn, "That one just startled me. Don't see me freakin' out about those ones, do ya?" I pointed my light at a group festerin' in the corner, lookin' huge, greasy and mutated, "Damn, those suckers are big, though... What if these sewer rats could get infected with the Walker disease? Holy shit..."

My mind started racin', thinkin' about how crazy that would be. It reminded me of the black plague, the one from the medieval times that you learn about in high school that was caused by rats. Well, fleas on rats, but close enough.

The walker disease was like that, only super charged, and frankly a lot more horrifyin'...

Eventually, after walkin' for what seemed like miles in the dark, we reached a slight drop in the tunnel, and a door that had nothin' on it but a faded yellow and black triangle symbol. The hinges creaked as Glenn pushed it open, and it was so high pitched it sent chills racin' up and down my spine. The other side was just as dark, but I could see somethin' blockin' the tunnel up ahead a few feet.

"Yep, this definitely looks like a sewer." I grumbled as I observed the slimey walls and grungy floors with my flashlight, makin' a face, "Smells like one, too..."

"Shit, it's a grate..." Glenn whispered as we approached the corkscrewed metal bars welded into the tunnel, "You think we could cut through it?"

I heard myself sarcastically scoff as I stared up at the grate. "Yea, with what? Our blowtorches?" I knocked on the bars, "This thing's solid."

Suddenly, there was a sloshin' sound comin' from the other side of the grate, like somethin' was wallowin' in the water. Glenn and I each aimed our flashlights down, and let out startled screams as we came face to face with a nasty, waterlogged walker.

We doubled back, our initial fear subsidin' when we realized he couldn't get to us. He wanted to, though... His arms were outstretched through the gaps in the bars, and he was clutchin' somethin' bloody in his hand... Obviously he'd been eatin' it, 'cause the blood was caked all over his mouth, too.

"Jesus..." Glenn breathed as the undead thing roared and screeched at us, pressin' it's body into the metal bars.

"I didn't even see him there..." I whispered, squintin' my eyes at whatever was in the walker's hand, "What that he's eatin'?"

"A rat..." Glenn grumbled back in a morbid tone, soundin' like he might puke, "A big, juicy... Rat."

I lowered my flashlight away from the walker, still hearin' it's hungry growls in the darkness, "Yummy."

There was a short pause before Glenn turned to me and said what we both didn't want to hear, as much as we hated bein' down in these tunnels.

"Well, I'm pretty sure this tells us that the sewer's a no-go..." He sighed in defeat, "Let's head back."

I nodded in agreement and followed Glenn back through the door, and into the dark tunnel. The way back seemed a lot faster than the way there, probably because we knew what we were headed for, and what to expect... Sort of.

Just as the light became visible at the end of the drainage pipe, my ears perked up at the sharp sound of shatterin' glass, comin' from the front of the store...

Glenn and I instantly exchanged wide eyed glances of panic.

"Rick and Andrea..." He whispered urgently, and we took off fast as lightnin', somehow manangin' to clamber up that ladder without breakin' our legs.

Luckily, Glenn really did know this department store up and down, so all I had do was follow behind him while he lead me around two corners and down a long hall like a human GPS.

It didn't take us long before we wound up in that little boutique full of cute clothes and jewelry, where Rick and Andrea stood with their guns pointed at the glass doors. Jackie and Morales were close behind, and everyone was starin' at the same thing...

The peril that was unfoldin' outside. The geeks had managed to use their combined weight to pound and smash the first set of glass doors to their shatterin' point. Now, they were that much closer, and doin' fast work on the second set, the only thing standin' between us and them.

"What'd you find down there?" Rick growled urgently in my direction, never takin' his eyes or gun off the walkers.

"Nothin' pretty..." I muttered back, "Definitely not a way out."

Everyone gasped and shrank back away from the doors as a big crack started to splinter in the middle of the glass, just like what had happened to the first set the last time we were all down here. We didn't have much time... Those things were just pilin' up out there, soon they'd just bust on through and devour us all, if we didn't do somethin'...

"We need to find a way!" Andrea said urgently, and I glared at her, even though she didn't notice.

No shit we needed to find a damn way.

We needed another plan, fast. A good one, one that would actually save our asses. But, right now, everyone knew our only option for the moment... Go back to the roof.

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T-Dog and Merle were still up there waitin' on us when we all burst through the door leadin' from the stairwell to the roof.

"Any luck with the signal, T-Dog?" Morales asked in a dry tone, as if he already knew the answer.

T-Dog shook his head, which was what I was expectin'.

"Been yellin' into this thing the entire time ya'll been gone," He grumbled in reply, still tryin' to tweak the knob on the top of the device, "Nobody can hear me out there."

Rick sighed in frustration, snatchin' a convenient pair of binoculars restin' near Merle's head. He quickly made his way to the south corner of the building, his boots clankin' as he crossed the metal grate, with all of us except T-Dog, and of course Merle, eagerly and quietly followin' behind.

Andrea, Glenn, Jackie, Morales, and I lined up single file behind the police officer, leanin' against the ledge and watchin' him scan the entire perimeter of the department store with the binoculars. We were all real fidgety, but tried our hardest to wait as patiently as we could for him to say somethin'.

When Rick stopped movin' and set his sights through the binoculars at a fixed point, I followed the path of his vision to an old construction site, fenced off and Walker free. There wasn't much in there but some lumber, sheet metal, a small one story buildin' that looked like an office of some sort, and two white box trucks.

"That construction site..." Rick began in a husky voice, lowerin' the binoculars and turnin' to flash his eyes down the line of us, "Those trucks... They always keep keys on hand."

Morales then motioned for the binoculars, and Rick reached passed Andrea to hand them off. The stalky Hispanic man took a second to peer through them to get a better look at the ground, but I knew what he was lookin' at, and you didn't exactly need binoculars to see 'em.

"You'll never get passed the walkers." Morales told Rick grimly, now lowering the binoculars from his own eyes.

Rick didn't seem to wanna take that for an answer, and quickly turned to Glenn. "Well, you got me outta that tank. I got passed 'em then."

"That's because they were feeding," Glenn countered, steppin' away from the wall, "They were distracted. It was all luck."

As I listened to Rick and Glenn bantor back and forth, I wondered how in the hell Rick could have possibly gotten himself stuck inside a tank...

"Can't we distract them again?" Rick asked hopefully.

Everyone looked around at each other skeptically, until Merle's raspy voice suddenly spoke up behind me.

"Naw, listen to 'im. He's onto somethin'." The redneck started off, but by the tone of his voice I knew some smart-ass remark was coming, "A diversion... Y'know, like Hogan's Heros."

I rolled my eyes as Merle chuckled dryly, really wishin' I could find some duct tape right about now for that mouth of his...

"Give it a rest, Merle." I growled at him over my shoulder, "Nobody's in the mood for yer stupid comments."

He surprised me and didn't say anything back, and just grumbled to himself, lettin' his head hang low with a nasty scowl on his face.

"They're drawn to us by sound, right?" Rick muttered as he brainstormed, leanin' his back against the ledge of the roof and strokin' his scruff chin.

"Right." I clarified with a nod as I took a few steps closer to the group.

"Like dogs," Glenn quickly added in, "They hear sound, they come."

"Okay..." Rick said, seemin' like he was takin' notes in his mind, then glanced around at us all, "What else?"

"Well," Now it was Morales's turn to add into the conversation, "They can see you, hear you, smell you... And if they catch you, they eat you."

I flinched slightly as he said the word "eat", absent mindedly tuggin' down on the hem of my black tank top. Sometimes, I forgot about the bite mark etched into my side as a raised pink scar, and to this day it still terrified me as to why I never turned after bein' bit by one of those freaks... The possibility was still there that I could turn at any moment... But it was been weeks since it happened, so I was tryin' to stay as hopeful as possible.

"They can tell us by smell?" Rick asked, raisin' his eyebrows at Morales, who nodded.

"Can't you?" Glenn piped up.

He had a point. None of us smelled like soap or roses, that was for sure. But that was somethin' you stop noticin' after a while. Ya shower when ya can.

"They smell dead, we don't." Andrea said, crossin' her arms over her chest, "It's pretty distinct. Where are you goin' with this, Rick...?"

The sheriff took a long pause, runnin' his head through his dark, wavy hair and lookin' all around at us, his expression just dreadful... Finally, he let out a sigh, and put his hands on his hips.

"All right, I got a plan, but it ain't gonna be pretty... Everyone, follow me. You too, T-Dog, we'll need ya."

As we all followed behind Rick back down into the dark, musty stairwell, I hung at the back of the group, stealin' a lingerin' glance at the back of Merle's head, and I couldn't help but worry about him bein' up here on his own... But he deserved the predicament he was in. At the rate things were goin' earlier, he was gonna get everyone killed.

So, I swallowed my sympathy and straightened up before disappearin' through the rusty metal door behind the others. I wasn't gonna let my feelin's get in the way of me doin' whatever I could to help get us the hell outta here.

Rick made our path through the store quick and efficient, first passin' through the garden center to get some heavy duty gloves... I was already gettin' anxious as to what exactly Rick's plan was. So, naturally, I had to ask, as we headed to the janitor's closet and Rick busted the lock with the butt of his gun.

"Okay, so are you ever gonna tell us this plan of yours, Officer?" I said from behind Rick as he pulled out two white zip up body suits, lookin' like they'd fit Morales and T-Dog perfectly, so he tossed them over.

They each caught one, lookin' skeptical as they examined 'em in their hands.

"Well, they can tell us by smell." Rick started to say, leadin' our group back into the boutique and straight to the khaki section. "So, we need to make it so we smell like them." He paused, lookin' over his shoulder at all us starin' at him quizzically. "There's an ax in the storage room we came in at earlier. Dead walkers in the alley way. You follow me?"

There was a pause amoung us as everyone put two and two together, and it was a domino affect as one by one, each of our faces twisted up in disgust.

"Oh, God...!" Andrea groaned from next to me, "That's sick!"

"Maybe." Rick grumbled back, startin' to toss khakis back to each of us, along with white trench coats for everyone besides T-Dog and Morales, "But we have to get to the construction site, we need those trucks for our get-away outta this shit storm."

"So, what, we're all just gonna cover ourselves in rotten guts, and stroll our way down the street six blocks?" Jackie demanded, from the back, soundin' horrified.

"Not all of us." Rick corrected her with a shake of his head, "Just Glenn, Rae and I."

At that moment, Glenn and I both perked up at the same time, our eyes wide and faces pale.

"What?!" We both gasped in unison.

"Just like you said before, Glenn." Rick started to explain as he looked at each of us sternly, "You two are the smallest and fastest. I need ya out there in case shit hits the fan, for extra cover. But this'll work... It should work."

I nodded in disbelief at what I was hearin'. "Great. Just great."

"If bad ideas were an Olympic event, this would take the gold..." Glenn mumbled as all the color drained out of his face, and he absent mindedly caught the pair of khaki pants soarin' towards his head.

"We'll be fine." Rick assured us before startin' to lead everyone off in the direction of the storage room, where we first busted in earlier, "Everyone got gloves? This is gonna get messy."

"Glenn's right," Morales said urgently, followin' right behind Rick, "Just stop. This is crazy, take some time to think it through."

"How much time?" Rick snapped over his shoulder, "Those freaks already busted through one set of doors, and that glass won't hold forever."

Morales shut up, obviously knowin' Rick was right, and proceeded to help him and T-Dog clear space as the rest of us pulled on our white trench coats and khakis over our regular street clothes. When we were done and had our gloves on, we looked like the members of some gruesome crime scene clean up crew.

When there was enough room for us to all move about freely, Rick, T-Dog, and Morales pulled on their protective clothes, and headed over to the door to the alley way. Glenn followed behind, and I could see 'em workin' out a plan amongst themselves, before countin' to three, and havin' Glenn throw open the door.

I could hear scufflin' footsteps and a series of gruntin' out in the alley way, as well as a few distant shrieks of stragglin' geeks in the street. Before too long, the three men reappeared, workin' together to drag one of the dead bodies layin' in the alley way into the storage room.

Glenn slammed the heavy metal door shut behind them, and they dropped the rotting corpse in the middle of the floor. We all hesitantly moved forward, formin' a circle around the dead walker.

It was a man, or had been, with short blonde hair and a thin build. He was wearin' a red striped shirt and a regular pair of jeans with a brown belt, all of which were coated in crusty dirt, blood and grime. His head had a gapin' hole in the right side from where it had been fatally bashed in with a blunt object, and his face was frozen in a horrible scream.

I gulped as I watched Rick slip on a visor with a big, plastic safety shield, and picked up a crowbar from the corner of the room. He briskly made his way to a glass case on the wall, protectin' a big red ax with a razor sharp blade.

The police officer didn't waste any time in smashin' that glass, and even though I watched him do it, the loud sound made me jump. When all the shards were outta the way, Rick tossed the crowbar aside and carefully reached into the shell of the case, snatchin' the ax and graspin' it in both hands.

My heart raced as we waited, all of us watchin' Rick pace around, listenin' to his deep breathin'. He was preparin' himself for what was about to happen, and in my mind I was doin' my best to do the same...

Everyone tensed as Rick suddenly raised the ax and lunged forward, but unexpectedly stopped short, causin' all of our muscles to deflate in slight relief. Rick then tore the protective visor off and tossed the ax to the side with a loud clank against the cement floor.

He then dropped to his knees beside the body and started diggin' through the pockets of its jeans until he pulled out a plain brown wallet. Rick unfolded it and pulled out a laminated card; the used-to-be person's driver's license.

"Wayne Dunlap." He read off the name on the ID, his voice quiet but loud in the silence, "Georgia license. Born... 1979."

As Rick handed the license over to Glenn, I calculated Wayne Dunlap's age in my head... It was the middle of 2010, so he would have been... 31. Daryl's age... My heart instantly sank.

Rick continued siftin' through the man's wallet, examinin' some stray bills of money that looked so foreign and unimportant now, "He had twenty-eight dollars in his pocket when he died..." He flipped a section of the wallet open to reveal a picture of a young woman with short blonde hair cut just below her chin, "And a picture of a pretty girl..."

Everyone watched in silence as Rick solemnly pulled the small photo from Wayne's wallet, readin' some chicken scratch on the back. "With love... From, Rachel."

He let out a shaky sigh, pausin' for a long few seconds before lookin' back up at the group of us, his lips pressed into a tight line. "He used to be like us. Worryin' about bills, or the rent... Or the superb owl..."

I stared at the ground, stayin' silent and mourin' Wayne for a few seconds. Even though I obviously hadn't known the man, nobody deserved to go out like that, as one of those flesh eatin' monsters...

"If I ever find my family, I'm gonna tell 'em about Wayne." Rick finishes honorably, before tuckin' the wallet back into the dead body's pocket, standin' up and replacin' his head gear, finally grabbin' the ax off the ground and holdin' it firmly.

Oh, God, he was really gonna do it now...

"Wait!" Glenn piped up as he glared down at the driver's license in his hand, "One more thing... He's an organ donor."

Everyone silently stared at Glenn with disgusted, morbid expressions on their faces, includin' me.

"Thank you, Glenn, for creepin' me out even more..." I grumbled, starin' at Wayne and startin' to feel sick to my stomach.

Before I knew it, Rick was takin' his first swing at the dead body, plungin' the ax blade deep into its bloated belly with a sickeni' squelchin' sound. Everyone flinched and made sounds of morbid disapproval, includin' Rick. After another few swings, the room was filled with the most putrid stench I'd ever experienced, and it was gettin' really hard not to gag...

Glenn was particularly sensitive to all this, hangin' back and watchin' the action with his hands braced on his head and his eyes wide and horrified, like he was witnessin' a murder.

By now, Wayne had only on limb left, the others severed and chopped into chunks, and his torso looked like ground beef that'd been sittin' out in the sun for about a week.

Rick backed off, slumpin' his shoulders and breathin' heavy, and for a second I thought he was done... Until he handed the ax and visor off to Morales.

"You chop it." He said breathlessly to the Hispanic man, who looked completely horrified, but complied.

Once Morales was ready, he chopped into the body a few good times, makin' the entire group moan and squirm in disgust.

"Ohhh..." Glenn groaned, droppin' down to a crouched position and holdin' his stomach, "So gonna hurl..."

"Later." Rick said as he tossed a glance at the Asian over his shoulder.

Soon, Morales backed away from the body, tossin' down the ax and hastily strippin' the visor. For a second we all just stood starin' at the minced up mess that used to be a body, until Rick started givin' us direction again.

"Okay, ya'll... Dig in." He grumbled to us as he leaned down to the body, stickin' his hands right in and scoopin' up a heap of guts, "Get us nice and bloody."

Rick then proceeded to smear the bloody goop down the front of his chest, frownin' as he rubbed it into the white fabric.

The rest of us exchanged glances before stoopin' down to grab some ourselves... I expected it to be warm, but really, it was kinda cold... It was a dead body, after all. It was just strange... And of course, completely revoltin'.

"Oh, this is bad." Glenn moaned as Jackie ripped an intestine from Wayne's insides and draped it over his neck, while Andrea simultaneously smeared him with goo, "This is really bad..."

"Think about somethin' else..." I suggested as I bent down to the rotten mess and grabbed a good handful, slappin' it onto my right pant leg and rubbin' it in like lotion.

"Yea, like... Puppies and kittens." Rick offered up in a grumble.

"Dead puppies and kittens..." T-Dog added in.

"Hey, I was just about to say that-" I said, the loud hackin' sound comin' from Glenn finally upchuckin' cuttin' me off.

Jackie, Morales and I were the closest to him, and instantly backed away. We were already drenchin' ourselves in walker slime, we didn't need puke added to the mix.

"That is just evil," Andrea scolded T-Dog from across the room as Glenn lurched again, "What is wrong with you?"

T-Dog just shrugged and continued slatherin' blood and guts all over Rick' back.

"Next time, let the crack'a beat 'is ass." Jackie said jokingly to Rick as she aided T-Dog in paintin' him, smirkin' a bit in his direction.

When Glenn was finally done hackin', he stayed stooped over for a second, and grumbled up to the sheriff weakly, "You suck..."

After about five minutes, Rick, Glenn and I were covered head to toe in blood and guts. Not the best look.

"Do we smell like them...?" I asked, scrunchin' up my nose and holdin' my arms out away from my sides. I already knew the answer to the question.

"Oh, yea..." Andrea replied anyway. "Glenn." She walked over to the still sickly Asian, holdin' a silver handgun out to 'im in her clean, ungloved hands. "Just in case."

He nodded thankfully, and she cautiously stuck the weapon into the waist band of his blood soaked pants, careful not to contaminate her skin.

"All right, ya'll." Rick spoke up again, "When we get back here, be ready."

"Wait," I said, a thought suddenly crossin' my mind that had been clouded by this whole gorey mess, "What about Merle?"

Rick's face fell in the silence that followed, showin' me he hadn't really thought of that... Never the less, he urgently stripped one of his gloves off, and carefully dug into his pocket. When he pulled out a tiny gold key, he tossed it underhand to T-Dog, who swiftly caught it and studied it in his palm.

After a second, he looked up with a serious look on his face, noddin' to show he understood his responsibility.

Rick nodded back to him and made solid eye contact before turnin' to Morales and holdin' out his hand. "Gimme that ax."

Morales tossed the weapon over to the police officer, who grumbled, "We need more guts..."

This time he swung the ax down a lot faster, splatterin' the guts about and sprayin' our pant legs.

Now it was me that was probably gonna hurl next...

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"I really hope this works..." I groaned almost silently as Rick, Glenn and I stood by the door, Morales waitin' behind us to open and shut it.

"Just remember." Rick instructed as he turned to Glenn and I, intently starin' us both in the face, "Stay close, walk like them, and most importantly... Don't draw attention. Everyone got their weapon?"

Glenn and I nodded, placin' our hands on our pistols jammed into our waste bands for the worst case scenario, which made me even sicker than I already was to think about...

"All right." Officer friendly whispered as he turned around and nodded to Morales, who pushed the door open, "Here we go."

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.: Daryl | 31 *Present* :.

Damn, this buck was givin' me hell. What was he, made'a stone? I'd already lost four arrows tryin' to nail 'im in his kill zone, an' I only had three more in my quiver, so I had to be careful now.

Luckily, I had my huntin' knife in its leather sheath strapped to my belt, just in case I had an unwanted guest try to sneak up on me... That wasn't real likely, though. No walkers this far out in the hills... Not yet, at least.

I spent a lot'a time thinkin' about Merle while I was out roamin' these trees, huntin' down a meal like a wild animal. I dunno why he volunteered to go on that run with Glenn and those other clowns in the first place. I hadn't been back to camp in over 24 hours, so I was hopin' they were all back already.

If they got themselves trapped trapped an' eatin' alive, the blood'a my brother was on their hands... But I guess it wouldn't really matter if they were all dead, it'd just be a nasty case of the blind leadin' the blind.

I'd tried to talk Merle out of goin' along with 'em the other mornin', but he wasn't havin' it. I shoulda known and just not wasted my breath, that brother of mine was stubborn as all hell, just like he'd always been. If anythin', this crazy world had just made him cockier and more power hungry than he was b'fore.

But I dealt with 'im, even though it was impossible sometimes an' we didn't always agree. Hell, sometimes I wanted to drive an arrow straight through his skull and just be done with it. We just had different morals and values, but in the end he was all I had left.

With Rae gone from my life, and an empty hole she left in my heart finally healin' and tryin' to fill itself, I had to make sure Merle stayed by my side.

I knew I could take this bullshit world, but I didn't know if I could do it completely alone...

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To Be Continued...


	6. Chapter Five

.:Raelyn | Age 27 *Present*:.

The sound of the door creakin' to a slam shut behind us seemed to seal our fate as Glenn, Rick, and I slowly made our way out into the open alley way, relyin' on these nasty, bloody clothes to protect us from bein' eaten alive.

My heart was hammerin' in my ribcage as I hobbled along with Rick and Glenn, all of us doin' our best to mimic the way the corpses walked, and moanin' quietly just like they did. Up ahead, just before the end of the alley, I could see four geeks lingerin' together, lookin' lost and dazed, just waitin' for their next meal to catch their attention... And hopefully it wouldn't be us.

I clenched my teeth together as we grew closer and closer, glancin' over at the two guys and readin' the anxiousness on their faces, too. We were right next to 'em now, close enough to touch, and it was the terrifyin' moment of truth. The four freaks seemed to spare us brief glances, but didn't make any sudden movements toward us. They just grunted and walked on by, draggin' their broken ankles and continuin' their search for food. Little did they know, It had just been right in front of their foggy, clouded over eyes, but we amazingly managed to fool 'em.

The three of us exchanged looks of disbelief before stallin' at the alley entrance, starin' out into the streets. I gulped, scannin' my eyes all around, takin' in the sheer mass of the dead roamin' around out in broad daylight. Sure, we'd fooled four walkers, but could we really make it past what easily could have been hundreds, or even thousands?

Only one way to find out, I guess...

Rick led the way, noddin' for Glenn and I to follow behind him. We slowly made our way out into the open, movin' in the direction of the construction site. As the geeks continued to just brush past us, even bumping our shoulders without so much as a second glance, I started to believe that this plan might actually work. Still, we each made sure our weapons were easily accessible, just in case... Rick clutched the ax from the storage room close to his chest, ready to swing if he had to, and Glenn and I kept our hands safely pressed on the handguns stuck in the waistbands of our jeans.

When I glanced up, I could see Morales peerin' down at us through his binoculars from the rooftop of the department store, the rest of the group lined up along the roof's edge, watchin' us with expressions of fear, and honestly, lookin' like they might throw up or somethin'. They should have considered themselves lucky they were up there away from all this madness, but at the same time they must have been feelin' some sorta panic up there, too... If we died down here, they were stranded, unless they could all figure somethin' else out.

I really hoped that didn't, happen though...

"It's gonna work..." Glenn's voice piped up through almost closed lips, "It's gonna work. I can't believe it."

Rick suddenly spoke back, his voice sounding much more urgent and firm, but just as quiet. "Don't. Draw. Attention."

We continued hobblin' in silence for what seemed like miles, the geeks barely noticin' us, only brushin' by and thinkin' we were one of them... Until suddenly, a horrible sound came from overhead... Thunder. A deep, rollin' burst of it. I glanced upward, my heart droppin' to my knees. The sky was screened in thick, billowy clouds, all dark, threatenin' shades of gray and black... Rain was in our near future, and I hoped that it would all just blow over, but I knew in the back of my mind that it wouldn't... Thunder was too loud, clouds were too thick and dark, and I could already smell the moisture in the air, even over the intense, nausiatin' stench of rotten flesh from all around us.

But, Rick, Glenn and I kept on pushin' forward. What other choice did we have? If we went back and gave up on our plan, we'd die for sure. Those geeks smashin' at the department store doors had probably just about busted their way through, so our only option was to keep pressin' toward the construction site, just three blocks away. It looked so close, yet so far away, and that box truck was our only way outta the city... I prayed it had gas in it, if we could manage to get to it in one piece.

My heart jumped as I felt the first drop of rain hit my nose, startin' a chain reaction, and soon water was pourin' down on top of us from the sky. This was not good... I could see bloody puddles formin' around our feet as we kept walkin', and I could have sworn I saw a geek to my left starin' right at me, like I looked good to eat... A soft growl escaped it's lips, but it still didn't attack. We really needed to move, fast. If we stayed out in the rain much longer, we were toast.

"It's washing off, isn't it...?!" Glenn's panicked whisper came from next to me as if he were reading my mind. To his left, a group of geeks began sniffing the air, growlin' in his direction, "Oh, God, it is! It's washing off!"

"No, it's not." Rick tried his best to stay calm and reassure the flustered Asian, but as the walker's all around us began to snarl and rile up, he quickly added in, "Well... Maybe."

Suddenly, I heard a horrible screech comin' from my right. I whipped around just in time to see a pair of open jaws rushin' my way, belongin' to a short, stalky female walker. Before I could do anything about it, I was screamin' in fear, and Rick had slung his ax with both hands, violently crushin' the skull of the thing that was tryin' to make me it's dinner... And it wasn't the only one.

"RUN!" Rick screamed at the top of his lungs, rippin' the ax from the dead body's skull.

That was it. The fuckin' rain had blown our cover, and now it was a mad dash toward the construction site. Blood was flyin' as each of us bludgeoned the walkers, Rick with his ax and Glenn and I with the butts of our pistols, carvin' our way through the ones that were rushin' us from the front and sprintin' away from the herd behind us.

It felt like everything was happenin' at hyper speed, and before I knew it we had made it to the abandoned construction zone. Rick didn't even bother to slow down as he chucked his ax over the tall fence, and we each leapt up and grabbed hold of the chain links. I'd climbed at least a hundred fences in my lifetime, but never as fast as I did in that moment.

When our feet hit the ground on the temporarily walker free side, Glenn, Rick, and I urgently stripped the bloody coats and khakis, revealin' our equally grungy street clothes underneath. The geeks kept comin' from the other side of the fence, though, screamin' and snarlin', tramplin' over one another to climb to the top of the fence. Glenn raced off behind us, and Rick pulled out his revolver, aimin' and firin' at the bloodthirsty corpses near the top of the fence. He was an amazin' shot, but I guess that came from bein' a cop.

I glanced behind me to see Glenn smashin' the padlock on a rusty green box anchored to the side of the office building. In the meantime, I ripped my pistol from my waistband, still loaded with the three bullets Morales had given me down in the boiler room. I fired them all off, one by one, landin' a head shot with each. Rick turned and briefly nodded in approval at me, his eyes wide in an impressed way.

"RICK!" Glenn's voice came from behind us in a scream, and I watched as the used-to-be police officer reached up and snatched a set of keys out of midair, then looked to me.

"C'mon!" He urged me, and we dashed off toward the box truck sittin' farthest away from the fence.

Luckily, the doors were already unlocked, allowin' us to hop inside quick and lock ourselves in the three-seater cab. Just as Rick shoved the key into the ignition and turned it to start the roarin' engine, a pair of hands slammed up against the passenger side window. The slappin' sound against the glass was almost defeanin', and scared the shit outta me.

"GO, GO, GO!" Glenn frantically urged Rick from the passenger seat as I screamed in the middle of them, watchin' all the walkers bust down the fence in front of us.

With a determined look on his face, Rick yanked the transmition into reverse, violently rippin' the wheel around and peelin' out, turnin' to face the opposite side of the construction site. We all knocked around together inside the cab as he slammed his foot on the gas, leavin' the mob of geeks in the truck's dust, and bustin' back out into the city through the rear gate. We were now headin' in the opposite direction of the department store, and I'm sure to our group up on the roof, it looked like we were leavin' them behind... But judgin' by the look on Rick's face, he had another plan brewin'.

"Holy fuckin' shit!" I cried out breathlessly, "Those things are all over that place! I can't believe we made it out alive... Holy shit!"

"Well, we ain't out alive yet..." Rick grumbled from the driver's seat, but I chose to ignore that comment. After all that bullshit, we had to make it out alive... I had to make it to Daryl... "We need to draw them away. You know those doors at the front of the store? That area? That's what I need clear."

Glenn and I stayed silent, starin' at Rick with wide eyes and hopin' he had more to say, which he did.

"Radio your friends, Glenn." He instructed, motionin' to the CB unit that Glenn was now pullin' from his waistband, "Tell 'em to get down there, and be ready."

"And we lead the geeks away how?" Glenn asked desperately, "I-I missed that part..."

Rick's reply was short and simple, just one word.

"Noise."

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.:Raelyn | Age 11:.

Shouts could be heard all around the baseball diamond in the back of the park, where a game was goin' on between two rivalin' groups of boys in the neighborhood down the street. They weren't real teams with fans or uniforms or nothin', but they liked to get all big headed and talk shit back and forth for weeks, and finally challenge each other to a game to settle who was better... Which usually ended in a tie, almost every time.

Still, it was always a big deal when the two groups of boys did play each other in a game of park baseball, and word of it usually spread fast all through town... It was a tiny little place, after all. Only kids cared to go watch, though. Adults were too busy, and really, we all liked it better that way... No one around to tell us what to do, except some of the older kids who tried to act like they were in charge of everything. I always just told 'em to piss off whenever they tried to bully me out of my front row seat, which usually worked and they left me alone.

Today, though, Daryl and I sat in the very back, perched on top of the wooden fence that boarded the edge of the park. He was muchin' on a bag of BBQ flavored pork rinds, shakin' the bag a little before offerin' me some. I had always hated pork rinds, until I started hangin' with Daryl... Now I was kinda obsessed.

The smokey-sweet flavor of the BBQ seasonin' coated my mouth as I crunched on a handful of the crispy, salty snack, and I threw my hands up in the air as a mock-cheer along with the loud crowd, watchin' a baseball sail all the way outfield. Homerun!

I never rooted for a particular team of boys, 'cause hell, I didn't really know none of 'em, and they were pretty much about the same as far as how good they played... I just liked when there was some good action.

"Who's winnin'?" Daryl asked me curiously as he finished chewin' his last bite of pork rinds.

I shrugged my skinny shoulders, feelin' my blonde ponytail flicker around in the breeze, "I dunno, I never really keep score."

"So what's the point of watchin', then?" My best friend asked me with one of his eyebrows raised up.

"Just to watch, I guess." I replied, "Sometimes they get mad at each other and get in fights, and that's pretty cool."

Daryl let out a laugh as he popped a few more BBQ pork rinds in his mouth, offerin' me the bag again. I happily accepted his offer and grabbed another handful. "You sure are a violent little girl."

"Took ya four years to figure that out?" I asked with a grin as I squinted in the sunlight and crunched on the pork rinds, makin' Daryl laugh again before we took to watchin' the rest of the game.

I swung my legs that were danglin' over the fence, stealin' a glance over at Daryl as he lunged forward to yell out how horrible one of the boy's swings had been. I giggled at his swampy southern twang that sounded just like mine. Daryl was 15 now, so there was just the slightest hint of some scruff on his chin and upper lip. I kept tellin' him to shave it, but he insisted it made him look "more like a man". Whatever, boys were weird.

Sometimes, I still couldn't believe he willingly hung out with me, an 11 year old girl, almost every single day. Most 15 year old boys were into older girls, and not just tryin' to be friends, neither. Or they were hangin' out with their buddies, goin' muddin' in their trucks or ridin' their ATV's through the backwoods of our town... But not Daryl.

He seemed like he couldn't care less about doin' any of that stuff, at least not with other guys his age. He was sorta a loner, like me... Never really got along with the other kids, who always seemed to give him a hard time.

But that was okay with me. Daryl was my best friend, and I really hoped no one would come along and steal him away from me, makin' him realize I was just a little kid and he was too cool for me...

I tried not to think about that much, though. I liked to think it would never happen.

After about an hour or so, the game ended in a tie, just like I predicted. While the teams argued in the middle of the field over the score and if it was really a tie or not, the rest of the crowd started thinnin' out, all the kids goin' home or somewhere else to hang out.

"Damn, I'm thirsty as hell." Daryl muttered as he hopped down from the fence, his old, grungy tennis-shoes hittin' the grass with a soft 'thud'. "Ya want a soda or somethin'? I got a few bucks."

I hopped down after him, brushin' off the seat of my jeans before I started followin' him towards the park's exit, "Sure, those pork rinds made me pretty thirsty, too."

We kept on walkin' through the crowd, just tryin' to get out so we could hop back on our bikes and ride down to the corner store where the cans of soda were only a dollar. Before we could get there, though, someone yelled out behind us.

"Hey! Dixon!"

Daryl and I turned around, lookin' for whoever had called out his last name in the sea of kids that were still roamin' around, chatterin' about the game.

Leanin' up against a huge oak tree over to our left was a group of three boys around Daryl's age. I recognized them as boys he went to school with.

As soon as Daryl layed eyes on 'em, he scowled, furrowin' his eyebrows up over his crystal blue eyes.

"Whaterya doin' hangin' out with that little rat again?" The biggest one of the bunch, probably the leader of the small group, hollered out with a nasty smirk, "Ain't ya got any balls, or did she take 'em from ya?"

The three boys under the tree cackled in laughter, and Daryl just turned to walk away, grumblin' over his shoulder at me,

"C'mon, Rae, let's get outta here. Just ignore those assholes."

I glanced over my shoulder at the boys under the tree, wantin' to go over there and smack 'em all in the face, but instead I just did as Daryl said and followed along behind him.

But, his plan didn't really work.

"Where ya goin', Dixon?" One of the other boys in the group hollered out as they trailed along behind us, "Goin' off to have yerselves a little tea party?!"

More laughin' came from 'em all, and I could see Daryl grindin' his teeth in frustration. His shoulders were scrunched up to his ears as he tried to block out the cacklin' voices, but it was workin' his last nerve, and I could tell.

Suddenly, one of 'em stepped in front of us, puttin' his hands on Daryl's shoulders and lightly shovin' him back, makin' him bump into me and almost knock me down.

"What the hell, Mitch?!" Daryl growled, lookin' back over his shoulder to make sure I was okay, which I obviously was.

"Aw, sorry, did I hurt yer little girlfriend?" Mitch taunted Daryl from in front of us while his two buddies snickered from behind us, trappin' us in some sorta triangle. "Like I care."

Daryl didn't say nothin' and just tried to walk around the boy known as Mitch, who stepped in front of him and pushed him again.

"Hey!" I hollered out, steppin' forward, "Leave him the hell alone-AH!"

I was sharply cut off by someone shovin' me real hard from behind, way harder than Mitch had pushed Daryl. I stumbled forward and hit the ground, my front slidin' in the grass and stainin' my light yellow t-shirt.

My lungs ached, the wind had been knocked out of me both from bein' shoved so hard, and my impact with the dirt.

"Stay outta the big boy stuff, little rat!" The boy who had shoved me snapped from behind me, but before I could get a good look at him, Daryl was launchin' forward at his face.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" My best friend roared, slammin' his fist into that boy's mouth and knockin' him to the ground, "DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH HER!"

Before I knew it, Mitch and his other friend had dog piled Daryl, rippin' him off the boy who had shoved me, and started deliverin' blow after blow to Daryl's stomach.

"Daryl!" I cried out, tryin' to rush in and stop all this, but I just got shoved back every time I went at them.

"Git," Daryl grunted as another fist slammed into his stomach, "Outta here, Raelyn!" He paused again, the breath bein' punched out of his lungs as he struggled to break free, "Go!"

I stared at him with wide, green eyes. Go home? Was he serious?

Go home and just leave him here gettin' his ass beat, three to one? I didn't think so.

The next thing I knew, I was jumpin' on Mitch's back, wrappin' one arm around his neck and makin' a fist with my free hand, knockin' him in the head over and over.

"GET OFF HIM!" I screamed, "YOU STUPID ASSHOLE! GET OFF HIM!"

My plan of attack worked... Sorta. Mitch quit punchin' Daryl and backed away from him, wildly reachin' his arms around behind him and tryin' to claw me off his back.

"Get this bitch off me!" He growled to his friends, who instantly dropped Daryl and raced to Mitch's aide. But, before they could get to me, I dropped off Mitch's back, kicked him one good time, then raced to Daryl's side.

His nose was a little bloody and he was outta breath, but for the most part he was okay.

"Damn, Dixon." Mitch piped up, sneerin' over at us, "You need a little girl to come rescue ya from a fight? Psh." His voice suddenly got real quiet, his face dark as he stared Daryl in the eyes, "Y'know, it's a good thing yer mama burned up in that fire, and not yer daddy. Someone's gotta teach ya to be a man one of these days."

He and his two friends started snickerin', but somethin' inside me snapped as those words left his ugly, disgustin' mouth. Somethin' white hot and angry, sendin' me hurrdelin' toward Mitch and his friends.

"Rae!" I heard Daryl yellin' from behind me, but I just couldn't stop.

I tackled Mitch to the ground with all my strength, hearin' the wind leave his lungs in a strangled "oomf". I pinned my knees on either side of him, and within two seconds, I was poundin' my fists into his face.

"YOU STUPID MOTHER FUCKER," I could hear myself through clenched teeth, but it was almost like I was somewhere else, and I couldn't control my words or my body, "YER GONNA BE SORRY YOU SAID THAT, YA PIECE OF SHIT! TAKE IT BACK! FUCKIN' TAKE IT BACK!"

Mitch struggled under me, tryin' to shove me off or get a hit in, his nose bloody and his left eye turnin' black. He did manage to beam me right in my bottom lip, but I didn't even feel any pain. Not even when I tasted the blood leakin' into my mouth. I just kept punchin'.

I could feel the hands of Mitch's two friends grabbin' at me and tryin' to rip me off of their pack leader, but there was so much adrenaline pumpin' through my veins that I just swatted 'em away like they were nothin'. Like pesky flies.

For a second, I could hear them both screamin' at Daryl to control me, to pull me off of Mitch. I didn't really understand why they were sayin' those things until I felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around my waist, easily liftin' me away from the fight, and Daryl's voice in my ear.

"Rae! Stop!" He urged me in his husky voice as I still kept kickin' and swingin', my head still stuck in brawl-mode. "RAELYN!"

Finally, I held still, pantin' in Daryl's arms until he set me down on the ground. I glared daggers over at the three boys a few feet away, focusin' mainly on Mitch, who was still spittin' out blood.

I didn't want him to know he got me good enough in the mouth to make me bleed, so as nasty as it was, I just swallowed the bit of blood that had pooled itself in my mouth.

For a second, no one said anything, until Daryl piped up, his voice soundin' smug, "How's it feel to get yer ass beat by a girl, Mitch?"

The bully didn't say anything, and just glared at Daryl with narrow eyes, wipin' his mouth with his forearm. I could see him glancin' around the park, takin' in all the looks he was gettin' from the kids who still lingered from the baseball game. Some of 'em were just starin', some of 'em were pointin' and laughin', and some of 'em just shook their heads and walked away... And that's what I decided Daryl and I should do in that moment... Just walk away.

"You best watch yer mouth from now on. " I warned the older boy in a growl before turnin' around and followin' Daryl out of the park, past the fence and toward our bikes.

We didn't say anything the whole way there, until Daryl unchained his bike from the bike rack, and turned to me, almost glarin'.

"What?" I asked him, furrowin' my brows and goin' to unchain my own bike.

"Why'd ya go and do that, Rae?" He demanded, pullin' his bike out of the rack and swingin' his leg over it, sittin' down on the seat, "Those guys were way bigger than you."

"I don't care." I boldly scoffed as I mounted my own bike and we started pedalin' towards town, "They had ya three to one, Daryl! I wasn't just gonna sit there and watch. Or run away like ya told me to." I rolled my eyes at the last part, before quietly addin' in, "... Plus, that asshole shouldn't have said what he did..."

"Yea, but now ya got a busted lip 'cause of it." Daryl pointed out, and I reached him to poke at my lip... It actually was a little tender, but it didn't matter to me.

"Like I said, I don't care." I repeated myself with a shrug, "Those guys didn't scare me. I betcha they wouldn't have tried to fight ya alone."

"Prob'ly not." Daryl agreed, "Pussies."

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"Okay, I got one. Knock-knock."

"Who's there?"

"Impatient cow."

"Impatient cow-"

"MOO!"

Daryl chuckled and shook his head at my knock-knock joke as he took a swig from his blue can of Pepsi.

"That was pretty lame." He told me as he kicked a rock into the creek.

After grabbin' our sodas from the corner store, Daryl and I had pedaled our bikes back to our favorite hang out spot, next to the big rock that sat at the edge of the creek way back in the woods. It was always just better there, quiet with no stupid jerks like Mitch and his buddies tryin' to start trouble.

"Hey, that was one of my favorites when I was little." I replied with a grin as I finished off my sprite and crumpled the can, layin' it next to the rock so I'd remember to pick it up when we left.

"Still don't make it good." Daryl insisted, smirkin' my way and makin' my stomach feel all bubbly again.

"Whatever then, you come up with a better one."

"Okay. Horse walks into a bar, and the bartender says, 'Hey, what' s with the long face?'"

Daryl looked over to me like I was supposed to laugh, but I just tilted my head to the side and narrowed my green eyes in confusion.

"Huh? I don't get it..." I said, "That wasn't even a knock-knock joke. And why would a horse go into a bar, anyway?"

My best friend rolled his eyes at my questions. "The bar don't have nothin' to do with the joke. It's funny 'cause horses have long faces... Git it now?"

"... No."

"All right, I guess that wasn't the best one..." Daryl admitted in a sigh, "Why don't they play poker in the jungle?"

I thought about it for a moment, but couldn't think of an answer, "I dunno. Why?"

"Too many cheetahs."

This time, I giggled. "Okay, that one was funnier."

Daryl looked accomplished, grinnin' a little as he downed the rest of his Pepsi, crumpled the can, and set it down next to mine.

A few quiet seconds passed before Daryl asked, "How's yer lip?"

"Not too bad." I replied as I absent mindedly lifted my hand up to prod at the swellin', "Still kinda hurts, but I'll live. How's yer nose?"

"Don't hurt no more." Daryl replied, "... Hey, Rae?"

I bent down to pick up a thick stick, standin' back up straight again and tossed it in the water, "Yea?"

"Even though it was real stupid, what you did back at the park... Y'know, fightin' Mitch..." My friend started explainin' softly, "It was actually kinda cool. Not even my own brother ever stands up fer me like that."

I felt my cheeks warm at his words, blinkin' my eyes at him before feelin' a smile tug at my lips. "Thanks, Dare." I said, "It was no problem... I actually don't think I coulda stopped myself from doin' it, even if I wanted to. But it sure felt good to punch that guy in the mouth, I'll tell ya."

Daryl laughed and shook his head, slowly makin' his way over to me and stoppin' a foot or two away.

"Like I said durin' the game earlier, yer a violent little girl..." He grumbled to me, but there was still a hint of a smile on his face as he reached out and ruffled my blonde hair, "But yer my best friend. I hope ya know that."

A smile bigger than I'd ever smiled before threatened to rip my face clean in half as I stared up into Daryl's Georgia blue eyes.

"You're my best friend, too, Daryl."

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To be continued...

AN:: Thank you to everyone who was been reading, voting/commenting (if you're reading on Wattpad) and reviewing (If you're reading on fanfiction)!

I promise, Rae will be reunited with Daryl in present time within the next chapter or two! (:

Chapter Six will be posted soon! Until then, fellow Daryl lovers 3


	7. Chapter Six

.:Raelyn | Age 27 *Present*:.

The way Rick drove that big ass truck through the streets of Atlanta, it was pretty damn obvious he was a cop... Or used to be. All his moves were smooth and safely executed (for the most part), and he knew just the right evasive maneuvers to use with both walkers and objects blockin' our path.

Still, Glenn and I had no clue as to what his plan was... All we knew was 'noise'. So, we sat next to each other, tense and quiet, just starin' out the windshield and swayin' with every turn of the wheel.

Finally, Rick whipped into a side street which was surprisingly completely clear of any walkin' corpses... Maybe that's 'cause all of 'em were either back at the department store, or still followin' us from that construction site. There were dozens of broken down cars and trucks linin' the street and sidewalk, but one of 'em stood out in particular.

We all laid eyes on it at once, and Rick slammed on the brakes, peelin' out the truck's tires and makin' us all lurch forward in the cab.

It was a beautiful cherry red Dodge Challenger, my favorite car, with the most perfect set of black racin' stripes and the shiniest chrome rims I'd seen in a while... Well, as shiny as they coulda been, for sittin' here for months.

Rick didn't waste any time after tryin' to pull on the door, seein' it was locked. He picked up a convenient screw driver layin' near the car's tire and jabbed it into the glass of the driver's side window, shatterin' it into a million pieces. Immediately, a piercin' alarm started blarin' into the air. Glenn and I flinched at the sudden loud sound, even though we were expectin' it.

Rick hastily cleared away most of the jagged glass from the car's window, then reached in and popped the door open from the inside. I glanced around the other abandoned cars near us, scannin' my radar for any geeks sneakin' up in our blind spot. We were clear, for the time bein'.

I watched as the sheriff patted around the cab in search for keys, but quickly gave that up and just jammed the screwdriver into the ignition. All it took was a good crank to make the engine come to life.

Chills ran down my spine at the sound of the powerful, roarin' motor... If there was one thing I missed about the old world, it was drivin'. Daryl used to work at this old mechanic shop back home, and his boss had a little crush on me so he never minded me hangin' around on slow days... I got to see a lot of cars, even test drove a few, but muscle cars were always my favorite. That's where my automobile obsession blossomed, and now it was forever intertwined in my veins.

Back in reality, Rick turned to Glenn and nodded for him to hop in the driver's seat. Glenn reluctantly followed orders, lookin' like he might pass out at any moment as he gripped the wheel.

"Hey, I'm goin' with him!" I projected my voice to Rick over the alarm as I jogged around to the passenger side door, which was conveniently unlocked, "Never know if I'll ever get a chance to ride in a nice car again."

For a second, the police officer stared at me skeptically. But there was no time for arguin', we had to move. So Rick just gave me a stern nod, and yelled out for Glenn to follow the truck until he gave him the signal to start leadin' the geeks away.

I popped open the passenger side door and dropped into the seat with barely enough time to shut the door before Glenn was peelin' off behind the truck.

We followed Rick at high speeds, at least 60 or 70 miles per hour, through the mostly empty, ransacked streets of Atlanta. With every turn that Glenn whipped around, fishtailing the rear end of the Challenger and growin' closer to the department store, I noticed more and more geeks trailin' up from alleyways and inside abandoned stores, attracted to the screechin' tires and blarin' alarm.

"Truck's about to roll up to the doors facing the street," Glenn frantically rambled into his CB unit, takin' my attention away from the road and puttin' it somewhere in my mind, thinkin' of everyone still trapped on the roof... Thinkin' of Merle... "Meet us there and be ready."

Rick's arm suddenly shot out from the driver's side window of the truck, urgently wavin' us around him. That had to have been the signal... Shit was about to get real.

Glenn dropped the CB in his lap and gripped the wheel with both hands. I felt a smirk curve my lips as he pressed hard on the gas, propellin' the car forward, passin' the box truck and violently whippin' into an alleyway close to the department store. Even when my life literally depended on it, I loved a fast, excitin' car ride.

I gripped the handle on the door as we dashed in a straight line down the narrow alleyway, burstin' out into the street on the other side where the geeks were still makin' it a mission to smash through those glass doors. When I looked at the size of the undead crowd as we zipped by, my heart sank to the floor... Those motherfuckers had to be at least seventeen deep.

A few of them from the outer rim of the mob took notice in us screamin' through and decided to abandon the rest of the crowd, followin' along behind us as Glenn whipped around another corner, straight into a gigantic herd.

"Oh, my dear Lord..." I gasped breathlessly, bracin' myself as Glenn slammed on the brakes in the middle of the street.

"C'mon, get closer!" He shouted at the geeks out his open window, honkin' the horn and pulsin' his foot on the throttle, lurchin' the car forward a few inches. "C'mon!"

My eyes darted around at all the different faces, each of them equally decomposed and horrifying. Their hands slapped against the bright red hood and against the windshield, and I could hear their terrible screams from Glenn's window. There had to be at least fifty walkers surroundin' the car now, tryin' with all their might to rip through the metal and get to us on the inside.

"Hold on." Glenn growled to me, yankin' the transmission back into reverse.

The next thing I knew, the pedal was on the floor and we were screamin' backwards, bustin' through the mob of undead. A strange mixture of adrenaline and excitement made a loud cheer escape from my throat as Glenn cranked the wheel sharply, swingin' us around in a drift to face forward again, still screechin' against the pavement and zippin' away down the abandoned and ransacked streets of Atlanta.

"YEA! That's what I'm talkin' about!" I yelled out to Glenn, reachin' out to lightly nudge his shoulder as I bounced around in my seat in excitement, "Man, what were you before this, a stunt driver or somethin'?"

"Nah," The young Asian man sittin' next to me replied with a quick glance to the side in my direction, my grin startin' to become contagious to him, "Pizza delivery boy."

I raised my eyebrows in an impressed way, noddin' my head and sittin' back in the seat. "Close enough."

I couldn't tell ya how long we just drove around the streets, stoppin' every now and then to let the walkers build up in a crowd around us before takin' off and leadin' them somewhere else.

Finally, I caught sight of the truck in the distance, fleein' the city on an empty stretch of backroad.

"There! They got out!" I called out to Glenn as I pointed in the direction that I could see the truck, "Let's get the hell outta here!"

My partner in this escape nodded his head frantically, takin' an unexpected right turn underneath a sign that read: To Interstate 93. "That's an idea I can work with."

For the moment we had lost sight of the truck, and I could only hope and pray that everyone had gotten out all right. The thought of Merle bein' handcuffed up on that roof plagued my mind, and I desperately wanted to know if he was okay and if he made it out alive, but I didn't want to bother Glenn in this moment, as we turned onto a completely empty stretch of highway leadin' out of the dead infested city. In fact, I wanted to enjoy this moment with him.

"WOOOOO HOOOOO!" He cheered with both hands on the wheel, jumpin' up and down as the speedometer crept to seventy, then eighty, then ninety, "YEA!"

I smiled one of the biggest smiles I had in a long time as I laughed and rolled my window down, feelin' the summer air tear through my long blonde hair. The alarm was still carryin' on, but by now I'd learned to tune it out. I could only hope that none of those freaks would follow the sound all the way to where ever we were goin', but there was really only one way to figure that out I guess...

"This car is a fuckin' beast!" I hollered to Glenn over the sound of the air rushin' through the cab.

"I know," He agreed with a smile from ear to ear, "I've never driven a car this nice before! All I ever had was an old beat up Nissan."

Suddenly, the CB buzzed from Glenn's lap, "Hello, Glenn? Rae?"

I recognized it as Morales's voice comin' in over the static. Glenn gripped the wheel with one hand and eagerly held the CB up as he spoke into it, "Morales?! Are you guys okay, did everyone get out alive?"

"Yea, we're all here..." Morales replied again, but his voice sounded a little hesitant from the other end, "...Except Merle."

Glenn immediately gulped and his eyes snapped to me. I felt my heart sink, my eyes blank and locked on the glossy black glove box.

"... Is he dead?" I said just loud enough for Glenn to hear me, turnin' to look at him with a dreadful expression.

Glenn licked his lips and took in a sharp breath before he spoke into the CB again, "... Did the geeks get him?"

"No. Well, we don't know." Morales said back, and I felt my anger boilin' over.

"How the hell can ya not know?!" I snapped as I snatched the CB from Glenn and yelled into it myself.

There was a pause before a response came, this time from T-Dog, "I dropped the damn handcuff key."

I was about to explode again, wantin' to rattle off some awful names and blame him for possibly killin' one of my best friends, but I controlled myself. I closed my eyes and let out a tense exhale, leanin' my head back against the seat as T-Dog started talkin' again, "I'm sorry, Rae. Everyone was rushin', I-I went back for 'im, but... I fell, and I dropped it, I-"

"T-Dog." I stopped him in his tracks, my voice much calmer now, "... It's all right. It ain't your fault he decided to be an asshole and get himself handcuffed to that pipe."

I could almost feel the relief from T-Dog on the other end, and from Glenn as his tense shoulders sagged. T-Dog apologized one more time before I handed the CB back to Glenn, and mindlessly gazed out the window.

He exchanged a few more words with his friends before the CB silenced, and he dropped it back into his lap. For a few minutes, neither of said anything, until finally Glenn spoke up over the car's alarm. "Hey... You okay?"

"Yea," I sighed as I flashed him a weak smile, "I'm fine... This shit just sucks. But I can't blame T-Dog or anyone else for Merle's actions. If he woulda just been a reasonable, civil human bein' for once he wouldn't have got left behind..."

Glenn nodded in understanding, before his eyebrows suddenly raised, "Wait, if you know Merle, then you must know Daryl, too... Right?"

Instantly my stomach fluttered and my cheeks flushed. "Y-yea... I do," I replied as I glanced over at Glenn, who was smirkin' a little now, and turned his eyes back to the road.

"Ah, so it's like that, huh?" He teased me, his smirk growin' into a grin.

"What?!" I yelped defensively, "He's my best friend, I've known him since I was seven years old. That's all. Nothin' else."

I cut my words into pieces firmly to get my point across, even though it was a total lie. I felt for Daryl as more than a friend, pretty sure I always had... I just never knew it until a few months ago, perfect timin' for the world to end and for us to get completely separated.

"Yea, yea." Glenn chuckled, "Okay."

I rolled my eyes, knowin' he didn't believe me. I crossed my arms and flopped back into my seat in a huff, givin' him a glare, "All right, all right. So I'm not good at lyin'. But this stays between you and me, Glenn, don't you go tellin' him or nothin'."

"I won't, don't worry." He assured me, "He's on edge so much that no one ever really goes near him, including me, anyway."

"Yea, that sounds like Daryl..." I sighed, "He ain't gonna be too happy about Merle."

Glenn didn't say anything, seemin' like he was imaginin' what was gonna happen when Daryl found out his brother got left behind in the city crawlin' with walkers.

The tension was so thick inside the Challenger, I could cut it with a knife. So, I decided to change the subject.

"Hey, can I drive?'

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After another half hour of driving and some careful direction from Glenn, I drove the car down on a road carved from a stoney hillside toward what looked to be a campsite... We were still at a distance so I couldn't quite see anything yet but tall, bushy trees, and an RV parked at the top of the hill. There was a red umbrella shadin' a short man with binoculars peerin' our way up on top of the roof, and I could only assume he was a member of Glenn's group.

"Everyone at camp is really nice." He assured me when he noticed I was nervously chewin' my bottom lip, "They're all still pretty freaked out, though, so just be patient with them."

"Ya know, that started out really comfortin', but now I'm not so sure..." I grumbled to Glenn as I kept my eyes on the road, a line of vehicles comin' into my view. There was a silver jeep, an old white and yellow van...

My stomach flipped around and twisted into knots when I saw two vehicles that I recognized... Daryl's old blue and white truck he'd bought off Merle when he was 18, and Merle's sleek black motor cycle.

My heart pounded and my breath hitched as I noticed a small group of people chargin' at the car while I pulled up and parked, the alarm that I'd almost forgotten about still piercin' the air. There was a thin, blonde teenage girl who raced straight up to Glenn as we popped the doors open and stepped out. Along with her came a middle aged man in a baseball cap with a dark, scruffy beard, a tall, wiry woman with dark hair and her young son who hung back just a little bit, and leadin' them all was a younger, well built man with dark hair, dark eyes, and a shotgun gripped firmly in front of him. I could see a few more people in the camp, mostly women and children, but they stayed near the tents and kept their distance.

I searched every single face a million times over, searchin' for Daryl, but he was no where to be seen...

Everyone seemed to be yellin' all at the same time, demandin' different things, but the first voice I focused on was the teen girl yammerin' in Glenn's ear.

"Where's Andrea?!" She asked frantically, "Is she okay?! Why isn't she with you?! Glenn!"

But Glenn couldn't answer, because the man with the shotgun was too busy commandin' him to pop the hood, slammin' his palm over and over onto the red paint.

"HOLY CRAP, TURN THAT DAMN THING OFF!" Another new voice hollered, the short man with a white beard who had been watchin' us drive up from the top of the RV. He, too, had some sort of shot gun or huntin' rifle slung over his shoulder.

"I don't know how!" Glenn yelled back while throwin' his arms over his head in exasperation.

"POP. THE. GOD. DAMN. HOOD. PLEASE." The dark haired man screamed sharply, now poundin' on the car with a clenched fist to gain some sort of attention.

"OKAY, ALL RIGHT!" Glenn screamed back just as loud, his face gettin' red as he ducked into the cab and popped the hood of the car.

Meanwhile, I stood back and watched all this frantic chaos as the blonde teenager kept at Glenn, buzzin' in his ear like a desperate fly, "Is Andrea okay?! Where is she?! Is she alive?! Why isn't she back?! Is she okay?!"

"Yea, yea, she's okay!" Glenn barked at her, just as the man with the dark beard yanked a plug from the Challenger's engine which silenced the alarm. He turned and glared at Glenn over his shoulder, but he didn't see it. "Everyone is. Well... Merle not so much..."

It was suddenly quiet as Glenn finished talkin', and I noticed everyone starin'... Mostly at me. It was a really uncomfortable feelin'...

Suddenly, there was a shotgun in my face, and I was starin' straight down the barrel. I flicked my eyes upward to meet those of the dark haired man, and he was scowlin' somethin' awful at me.

"Who the hell are you?" He growled, his eyebrows scrunchin' together.

The wiry woman gasped from behind him, tuckin' her son behind her and glarin' at the back of the man's head.

"Shane!" She hissed, but she was just ignored.

"Whoa, hey!" Glenn cried out as he stepped in front of me, his hands raised defensively, "She's cool! Her name's Rae. We found her in the city."

Shane paused, narrowin' his eyes at me, then Glenn, before startin' to growl angrily again, "What, so you think it's okay to just pick up strangers in the city and bring 'em back to camp?!"

"Dude, she's fine!" Glenn insisted, and I just stood back and kept my mouth shut. I'd never felt so unwelcome somewhere in my entire life, "She helped us all get outta there... Plus, she knows Daryl. She's been looking for him."

There was a brief moment of silence as the dark haired man known as Shane seemed to debate whether or not to just shoot me on the spot, despite Glenn's good word. Finally, he reluctantly lowered his gun, and huffed his way over to the Challenger.

"Do you have any idea how stupid it was, drivin' this damn thing up here with that alarm blarin' like that?" Shane scolded, leanin' under the popped hood and examinin' the engine of the car.

"I don't know," The older man from the top of the RV spoke up with an optimistic shrug, "We're so far up in these hills, it'd probably be hard to pinpoint..."

Shane immediately shot the bearded man a glare, so he quickly defended himself, "What? I'm not trying to argue, I'm just saying..." Then, he turned to Glenn and I, "Would it kill ya to be a little more careful next time?"

"Sorry..." Glenn apologized flatly before smilin' and lightenin' his tone, gesturin' toward the cherry red automobile, "Buuuuut I got a cool car...?"

"It is a pretty bitchin' ride." I agreed with a nod, then remembered there were moms with little kids standin' just to my left. I glanced over to see them glarin' at me a little. "Sorry..."

Just then, the sound of tires rollin' across the gravel caught my attention, and everyone turned to see the giant white box truck pullin' up to camp. I could see that Rick was still drivin', and he put it in park just as Andrea leapt out of the back, racin' around the corner.

"Andrea!" The blonde teen cried out as she dashed toward her.

"Amy!" Andrea said in a relived tone, and the two crashed into an embrace, cryin' and tellin' each other how they thought they'd never see the other again.

Judgin' by their age difference and how similar they looked, I assumed they were sisters. I smiled a little at their happiness, but felt a pang of jealousy in the pit of my stomach... I wanted that, too. I wanted my reunion with Daryl, but as I took one final scan of all the visible faces, I couldn't find him...

Morales then appeared from the passenger side, his young daughter and son racin' up to him. They giggled and threw their arms around his neck, and he laughed as he scooped both of their frail little bodies up with ease. He spun them around once, givin' them each a kiss before settin' them down and embracin' his wife, a short, stout woman with dark, curly hair and a pretty face.

I noticed the tall, dark haired woman's face fall as she watched all the families reunite, her hands graspin' her son's shoulders as she led him away. She then crouched down in front of him and spoke to him softly, reachin' her hand up to gingerly stroke his cheek. The little boy nodded with his mother's words, starin' into her eyes with trust.

"You are a sight!" A voice from behind me chuckled, and I turned to see the man from the RV reachin' up to pat Morales's thick shoulder, "I thought we lost you folks for sure." Morales nodded to him with a smile, and then the older man turned to me, grinnin' and extendin' his hand. "Hello, Rae, was it? Is that short for something?"

I nodded and hesitantly extended my own hand, forcin' a smile, "Raelyn."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Raelyn. I'm Dale." He paused to swing his arm out, gesturin' to the tents and the thick forest around them, "Welcome to our home."

"Hi, Dale." I greeted the friendly man, not quite sure how to socialize with people after months of no human interaction, "Thank you, that's very kind of ya."

"How'd ya'll get back here, anyway?" Shane asked as he leaned against the now silent Challenger, his shotgun propped at his side, "Couldn't have been all 'cause of little miss sunshine over there."

I lightly scowled at the man with my arms crossed over my chest, just as Glenn spoke up to respond, "Oh, yea! New guy. It was his plan that saved our asses."

"New guy?" Shane repeated with his eyebrows raised, "You got more strays?"

"Yea, some crazy vato who just got into town," Morales piped up from a few feet away, his wife tucked under his arm. He lifted his other hand up to his mouth, projectin' his voice as he called out toward the white truck, "Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello!"

All of our eyes drifted toward Rick, who was hesitantly makin' his way toward us with his head down and his hands on his sides. He seemed real uncomfortable.

"Guy's a cop, just like you, Shane." Morales added in, but Shane seemed to already be starin' with wide eyes of disbelief, as if Rick was someone he'd seen before...

When the police officer I'd come to know looked up, his face instantly mimicked Shane's. His mouth fell open slightly, and his steel blue eyes widened as he first looked to Shane, then turned to the dark haired woman and the young boy near the back of the group.

They each stared at Rick, their eyes wide and misty, like they were lookin' at a ghost. Suddenly, the young boy broke into a sprint in Rick's direction, the woman close behind.

"Dad!" He cried out in glee, "Dad!"

Rick's eyes filled with tears as he dropped to his knees, scoopin' the little boy into his arms and squeezin' him into his chest. He quickly stood back up, just in time to extend his arm and bring the woman into the embrace, sobbin' into her long dark hair.

Everyone was smilin' at them, and I had to hold back tears at the emotional sight we were all witnessin'... It was unbelievable. I mean, what were the chances?

I was happy for Rick. He had actually found his wife and son, after months of bein' separated, their home town miles and miles away... But that was sort of the same case for Daryl and I. I was startin' to get impatient... I could see his truck, but where was he?

I desperately needed our reunion... I just had a feelin' I was gonna have to wait a little longer.

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To be continued...

An:: yay, I finally got Raelyn to camp! Hahah. We will have Daryl in the next chapter, lovelies!

It should be up within the next week (: toodle-loo! ❤


	8. Chapter Seven

.: Daryl | Age 31 *Present* :.

The old wooden fence I was walkin' along seemed to stretch on for miles up ahead, curvin' with the rise an' fall of the green Georgia hills. To my left an' right, there was nothin' but fields of grass, rollin' on forever with no end in sight. I didn't really know where I was, but it felt right... It felt like home.

Suddenly, up ahead I could see a tall willow tree. It's branches were droopin' almost all the way to the ground, covered in fuzzy lookin' light green Moss. It was the only tree around, and it's roots sat right up against the line of the fence... It looked real familiar to me. I felt like I'd seen that tree a million times...

It wasn't till I looked to my right and saw that old blue house I grew up in off in the distance, planted right in the middle of the field, that I realized why that tree looked so familiar to me.

The porch light was on, but the windows were dark... My old truck wasn't in the driveway, and neither was Merle's motorcycle or my piece'a shit father's ratty SUV. It was just a dead shell of a house that never deserved to be called a home, a dark place I ran away from so many nights of my life...

"Daryl!"

A soft voice called out my name, one that I'd heard almost all my life. When I turned my head, I could see Raelyn standin' underneath that willow tree, waitin' on me like she always used to when we were just kids, runnin' around causin' trouble. But she didn't look like a little kid, not in the least... She looked exactly how I remembered seein' her last; a grown woman, with long, wavy golden hair that fell down to her waist, bright green eyes and a thin, cute button nose. She looked like an Angel on earth, and I felt a warmness fill my heart.

She smiled at me as she crossed her thin, tan arms over her chest and leaned her back against the trunk of the willow, and I felt myself smilin' back as a cool breeze passed through, brushin' her long hair over her shoulder and into her eyes. Raelyn reached up with both hands and combed the fly away strands backwards and outta her face, but this time... It wasn't her...

There was a dead, rotted mound of flesh where Rae had once been, her blonde hair matted in dirt an' blood, her tank top and jeans ripped and dingy. She snarled, staggerin' closer to me, but I stumbled backwards, fallin' to the ground.

"Son of a bitch...!" I heard myself growl as the thing that used to be Rae crawled toward me, screechin' an' howlin' somethin' awful, tryin' to get a bite outta my leg as I kicked 'er away.

I crawled backwards, frantically pattin' the ground for somethin' sharp, anything... When my finger tips grazed a decent sized stone, I gripped it, threw my arm up, and smashed the rock down in the corpse's skull.

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My breath caught in my throat as my body jolted itself awake, an' suddenly I was back in real life... Propped high up in a pine tree, twisted up in these damn branches like human origami, just to get a few hours of sleep knowin' I wouldn't get eaten alive. I groaned at the feelin' of one of the sharp, twiggy branches jabbin' me in the ribs, an' shifted my weight as best I could.

Below me, I could hear a scratchin' sound, followed by some low gurgles... I didn't even have to look down to know what it was, but I did, anyhow. Just as I thought, one of those geeks was at the base of the trunk, scrapin' it's dirty, disgustin' fingernails against the bark. It's cloudy eyes were locked on mine, and bloody drool seeped from its mouth as it growled up at me.

I frowned as I yanked my crossbow from its strap on my back, an' squinted one eye as I aimed the point of the arrow right between that dead thing's eyes. With a pull of the trigger, the arrow was launched and stuck in the walker's skull, killin' it instantly. The body crumpled to the ground, and I stared down at my arrow for a minute before decidin' I'd wait till mornin' to get it. Too much hassle right now, climbin' up an' down this tree... I just wanted another hour or two of some kinda sleep.

I closed my eyes an' tried my best to get comfortable, but my mind was just too busy. That walker just got me thinkin'... It was the first one I'd seen up in these woods. That wasn't really a good sign... Meant they were runnin' outta food in the city, so they were travelin' up into the hills in search of it. Probably feedin' on critters in the woods to survive, but I just hoped and prayed they wouldn't get their hands on our camp.

An' as if that wasn't troublin' enough in itself, I just couldn't stop thinkin' about Raelyn... Hell, I was even startin' to dream about 'er now, an' I never really was one to dream when I slept. I hated not knowin' if she was okay, or even alive, or what she had to go through that I couldn't protect 'er from... I knew she was a tough girl, I'd seen her throw down an' kick ass on more than one occasion. But this world was rippin' everyone apart, even the people who had been trained in the army for years to deal with situations like these were taken out in just a matter of days by this plague of death. The rest of us were just the lucky ones who lived to see another day, an' the streak of luck was just draggin' on an' on... Who knows when our times will come? All we could do was live day to day.

I opened my eyes an' stared at the moonlight shinin' in through the branches of the pine tree. A sigh left my lungs as I tried to push Raelyn's face outta my head, but I knew damn well nothin' would keep 'er out. She was burned into my memories, every last little bit of 'er, an' she was there to stay for as long as I lived.

Even after three long months of bein' separated from her, I could still hear her twangy voice, an' hear her cute, raspy laugh, an' see the attitude in 'er eyes when she didn't like somethin' me or Merle said to 'er... I could still smell that sweet, fruity scented Victoria's Secret perfume I'd gotten 'er for 'er birthday (With the help of the lady in the store... She pretty much picked it out for me an' gave me the box, an' I never breathed a word... I never was the best shoppin' for people, 'specially not a woman.), an' I could almost feel the warm, lingerin' hugs she gave me when we were sayin' hello or goodbye... I missed that girl somethin' awful. No matter how hard I tried to forget 'er, she hung onto my heart somehow an' tore it to pieces.

Why'd we leave 'er in that damn truck? I shoulda just ignored Merle's loud yammerin', drove right past that gas station and got us all the hell outta there... Maybe then my best friend... Hell, my only friend, would still be here. Maybe this woulda all been different...

I clenched my jaw an' closed my eyes again, tryin' to think about somethin' else. My thoughts raced to the deer I was trackin' through these woods, but that just made me think of the time I taught Rae to shoot a rifle when she was 16. A smirk curved my lips as I remembered the look on 'er face when she accidentally peppered a hole into the side of Mr. Jackson's old barn, but luckily we never got caught for it.

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get that girl outta my mind... My thoughts jumped from the time I first saw her little head of white-blonde hair out in the woods behind my house, to the time she beat Mitch Wilson's face in for shit talkin' my momma when I was in the 10th grade, to just three days before this zombie outbreak, when we'd been drinkin' at my apartment like we always did on the weekends... An' I kissed 'er.

That night, I planned on spillin' my guts to Rae. I mean, tellin' 'er how I really felt about 'er, how I'd always felt ever since I'd been old enough to understand... But I pussied out at the last second, left 'er hangin'. Didn't talk to 'er for two days, but I was just... Just...

All right, hell. I'll just say it. I was scared shitless. I'd never cared for anyone before, besides my brother, an' that ain't the same. With Raelyn, though... She was somethin' else. She was always in my thoughts, and when she was around I just felt... Calm.

But, she wasn't around, no more...I shoulda just told Raelyn how I felt... But it was too late. She was gone, and she'd never know... And I knew that was somethin' I'd just have to learn to accept.

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.: Raelyn | Age 27 *Present* :.

"Disoriented... I guess that word comes closest."

We all hung on Rick's every word as he explained how he survived wakin' up alone in an abandoned hospital to the group of us sittin' around the smolderin' campfire. Lori, his wife, clung to his arm, her head on his shoulder. His little boy, Carl, sat snuggly in his lap, a thin blanket wrapped around all three of them.

It was dark up in those hills, and it was cold as hell, even with our campfires. They were only embers, though, just for safety... Low visibility. From what I'd heard, it was one of Shane's "rules". Honestly, I didn't give a damn what that shady mother fucker said, but I figured I'd just keep my opinions to myself an' go with the flow for now. Last thing I needed was to cause trouble around the only sane people I'd seen in months.

I tugged my faded red flannel around my body and inched closer to the burnin' embers, keepin' a sly eye on Shane's face from across the glowin' orange coals. He was starin' at Rick, who was still explainin' how he felt walkin' all alone through the streets lined with crashed cars and dead bodies wrapped in bloodstained sheets. Shane's dark eyes were almost spiteful, and his jaw was tensely set.

Every now and then, I noticed Lori flash her green eyes over to his as Rick spoke, and they held each other's gaze for a brief second before tearin' away again. I could tell there was somethin' goin' on between those two, it was so obvious in their body language toward one another. But, Rick didn't seem to notice, and I didn't feel like it was really my place to say nothin'.

When there was a pause in Rick's story, Carl turned his blue-eyed stare up to his dad's face, and whispered, "Mom said you died..."

Instantly, Lori's eyes widened in shock at what her son just announced to the group of us around the fire. She quickly looked to Rick, seemingly speechless as she struggled to find the words to explain, but he stopped her with a reassurin' smile.

"She had every reason to believe that, Carl..." Rick said, kissin' the little boy on top of his head, then turnin' and doin' the same for Lori.

She kept her eyes low, but once again I could see her flashin' a glance to Shane across the embers. She almost looked angry, and Shane couldn't hold her eyes for long before starin' at the ground in front of him, almost in shame.

Finally, I couldn't take sittin' quietly anymore, and asked the question that had been on my mind since Glenn and I pulled up to camp, "I don't mean to interupt, but... Where's Daryl?"

There was a brief pause around the fire, and as I glanced around at everyone's faces, they all looked the same... Anxious, shiftin' their eyes all around, until Dale warily spoke up.

"Oh, he went on another one of his little hunting trips..." He told me, tryin' to give me a comfortin' smile, but I could read the uneasiness right through it, "He should be back tomorrow sometime. It's been two days, after all."

I sighed, feelin' a little deflated as I glanced over my shoulder, takin' in the thick, dark trees behind me. "Okay... I guess I can wait one more day."

"I tell ya, it's hard to imagine Daryl having any friends." Dale said, and I could see Amy and Andrea noddin' in agreement from next to him, "Especially not a pretty girl like you, Raelyn."

I felt a stiff half-smile spread onto my lips as I nodded in Dale's direction. I never really was any good at acceptin' compliments.

Suddenly, Glenn's voice piped up from my left, and I turned my head to look at him, "That's exactly what I said. Well, minus the pretty girl part. I mean, n-not that you're not pretty, Rae-"

I found myself gigglin' at the awkwardly nervous way Glenn was stammerin' for his words, and reached out to pat his shoulder.

"Relax, Glenn." I told him with a smirk as I raised my eyebrow, and he let out a long exhale.

From behind me, I could hear footsteps in the grass, and turned my upper body to see Morales makin' his way over to the fire from his tent, where his wife and kids had just gone to sleep.

"Speaking of Mr. Dixon..." He grumbled while takin' a seat next to T-Dog, "How are we gonna tell him about Merle...?"

Silence fell around the group of us. No one had an answer, not even me. I could tell these people already knew exactly how short tempered Daryl was, only from spendin' a few months with him.

"Well, I don't know," Dale finally sighed, furrowin' his thick eyebrows in a worrisome way, "But I think we all know he's not going to take it well. Merle's his brother..."

"I dropped the key," I suddenly looked to T-Dog, who had boldy spoken up, "I'll tell him. It was my responsibility."

"I cuffed him," Rick countered, like they were battlin' for an item at auction, "That puts it on me."

"Guys, it's not a competition..." Glenn informed the two of them in a grumble, before turnin' to T-Dog and gingerly addin' in, "I don't mean to bring race into this, but... It might sound better coming from a white guy."

"He's kinda got a point there, Tee." I agreed as T-Dog glanced over to me with a frown.

"I did what I did..." He mumbled as he glanced around at all of us, "Hell if I'm gonna hide from it."

"We could lie?" Amy offered up enthusiastically from where she was huddled up close to Andrea, and the older woman shook her head.

"Or tell the truth." She corrected her younger sister, "Merle was out of control. Something had to be done, or he would have gotten us killed... I'm sure even Rae could agree with that."

I nodded as I met Andrea's blue eyed gaze from across the glowin' fire, then turned to Rick and his family, specifically focusin' on Lori. "Ma'am, Merle's a good friend of mine, if you can believe it... Almost like a brother. But your husband did what was right, and if Merle got left behind... Well, that ain't nobody's fault but Merle's."

My words seemed to give mostly everyone comfort, save for Shane who just seemed like he didn't give a shit about nothin' but what was goin' on inside his own head. I knew what I was sayin' was true, but thinkin' about Merle chained to that metal pipe up on that rooftop made me sick to my stomach. I started regrettin' leavin' him there alone, wishin' I woulda stayed with him, and maybe things woulda happened differently. Maybe he'd be sittin' here with us, and I wouldn't feel quite so outta place...

"... And that's what we tell Daryl?" Dale's skeptical voice brought me outta my thoughts and back to reality, watchin' as the older man turned his head over his shoulder to peer into the woods, then lowered his voice as he started speakin' to us again, "Word to the wise... We're gonna have our hands full when he comes back from this hunt."

Glancin' at the worry washin' over everyone's faces basked in the glow of the weak campfire, I let out a stressful sigh and ran my hands through my long, ratty hair.

"Now, ya'll, just relax." I said, and everyone turned their attention to me, "Yes, I know Daryl Dixon is a stubborn, hot-headed, loud-mouthed son of a bitch, and no, he ain't gonna take this news very well..." I paused and felt myself cringe a little as I imagined just what his reaction was gonna be like, "But, if he gets real rowdy, let me handle him."

Across the fire, I caught Shane rollin' his eyes, but I chose to ignore it. I wasn't gonna let that guy's pathetic ego get under my skin.

There was just quiet for a minute or two, nothin' but the crickets and the soft cracklin' of the embers, before T-Dog spoke up again, his voice soundin' distant.

"I was scared... I ran," He said, his eyes glued to the glowin' coals, "I'm not ashamed of it."

Andrea suddenly turned to look at him, then said, "We were all scared... We all ran." She paused to scrunch her thin blonde eyebrows together in confusion before askin', "What's your point...?"

T-Dog leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees, lickin' his lips before startin' to explain, "I stopped long enough to chain that door to the roof... Hallway was real narrow, not many geeks could fit. Maybe half a dozen or so at one time... That's not enough weight to break through it. Not that chain, n-not that padlock." T-Dog waited a second for us all to absorb this information, and I clung to his every word as he gravely spoke again, his voice low, "My point? Dixon's alive. And he's still up there, handcuffed to that roof. That's on us."

T-Dog's grim words struck somethin' deep in my heart, a sorta pain that made me sickeningly numb throughout my entire body. He stood up from the fire and silently disappeared into his tent, leavin' the rest of us with his heavy feelin' of guilt. I pulled my knees tightly to my chest, wrappin' my arms around them and buryin' my face in the sleeves of my flannel.

I tried my best not to think about Merle, and instead mentally willed Daryl to make his way back to camp as soon as possible...

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My first night sleepin' at camp was restless and uncomfortable. Jackie and T-Dog had some extra room and a sleepin' bag in their tent, so even though it was a little awkward, I hunkered down there until mornin'.

When Jackie and T-Dog stirred with the early mornin' sunlight, I kept my back facin' them and pretended to be asleep, just listenin' to the two of 'em shufflin' around the tent. They quietly whispered to each other and kept their footsteps light, until finally I heard the sharp sound of the door's zipper slidin' upward. Jackie and T-Dog walked outta the tent, zipped the door closed again, and then it was quiet.

I sat up in my sleepin' bag, lettin' out a sigh as I listened to the light chatterin' from the camp's people outside the tent. Still, I didn't hear Daryl's distinct, raspy southern drawl... My stomach dropped a little in disappointment, and a part of me just wanted to stay hidden inside until he came back. But I knew I couldn't do that, so I reluctantly kicked the sleepin' bag off my legs and stood up.

As I stretched my arms upward, feelin' the ache in all my overworked muscles from the hell I had gone through the day before, I noticed a small stack of folded clothes next to me. A note was sittin' right on top, and I squinted at the paper as I bent down to snatch it up.

"Here's some clean clothes. We tried to find some that we thought would fit you best... Bring you other clothes out after you change so we can get them cleaned up for you. - Jackie (:"

I smiled a little at the scribbly handwritin' that was so obviously a woman's... It was almost motherly, and it comforted me in some sorta way. So, I dropped the note onto the ground and quickly stripped outta my worn out jeans and black tank top. When the grizzly, horrible lookin' scar on my side came into my view, I froze. It made me sick to my stomach to look at it and remember how it happened, the risen pink skin in the shape of teeth marks... It felt so strange and foreign, almost numb as my finger tips softly grazed the surface...

My breaths were ragged as I scrambled to pull the clean gray t-shirt on that Jackie had left me, hidin' the gruesome bite mark from my eyes and calmin' my nerves just slightly. I ran my tremblin' hands through my hair and let out an exhale before snatchin' the pair of khaki shorts and tuggin' 'em up my long, tan legs, and surprisingly they fit me pretty well. My socks and weathered black converse low tops were next, and then I grabbed my dirty clothes, reached for the tent's zipper, and prepared myself for some social interaction that I wasn't too thrilled about...

Me and other people usually didn't mix too well, but I figured I had to change myself a little in this new world, or I might not get too much further in one piece.

Makin' my way out past all the tents and into the main part of camp, I could see that maybe half of the survivors were up and about. Most of the women were bustlin' around with clothes and dishes in their arms, and some of the men were carryin' in firewood and settin' it up to burn. So far, I didn't see any of the kids.

"Good mornin', Raelyn." a gentle voice greeted me, and I glanced in front of me to see Carol, one of the mothers I'd briefly been introduced to the night before. She was standin' at a fold out table, sortin' through a pile of damp shirts and pants. "How'd you sleep?"

I stifled a yawn as I approached the woman with the short, buzz cut hairstyle, then shrugged my shoulders before replyin', "All right, I guess. I got a lot on my mind..."

My eyes drifted out toward the tree line, before Carol spoke up again and brought my attention back to her smilin' face, "You're thinkin' of Daryl, huh?"

I felt my cheeks warm up to a rosie pink color, and Carol's smile widened.

"Yea..." I admitted as I awkwardly reached out and fiddled with the limp collar on one of those damp shirts, "I haven't seen him in three months. I'm pretty anxious."

"Well, I can't blame you." Carol sighed, "I can only imagine what you've had to go through to get here."

I nodded my head as gruesome memories of travelin' alone through the creepy abandoned towns and walker-infested country side of Georgia flooded my mind. I had been tryin' so hard to get to Atlanta, where I thought Daryl and Merle would be for sure... My hunch was sorta right, even though I only found Merle and he regretfully got left behind...

"I'm real lucky," I told Carol, and she gave me a slightly puzzled look, "Lucky to have been in the right place at the right time, I mean... I honestly thought I was gonna die in that department store, before Glenn and Officer friendly came along."

She suddenly reached out to touch my arm, which caught me slightly off guard, but I did my best not to stiffen up. "I'm happy you found your way home."

Carol's gentle words and kind gestures suddenly calmed my nerves, and for a moment I felt genuinely welcome... That is, until Shane came waltzin' up the hill toward his jeep, passin' right by the table Carol and I were standin' at.

"Mornin' Carol." Shane quietly greeted the woman next to me, who just nodded before droppin' her eyes down to the clothes, almost like she was bein' scolded. When Shane turned his eyes to me, they suddenly got a little more intense, and his tone sharpened up, "Rae."

He curtly nodded at me, but I didn't do anything to acknowledge him. Only narrowed my eyes in his direction, just enough for him to see I wasn't buyin' his alpha-male bullshit.

"I'm headin' out to get the water, ya'll." Shane loudly announced to the camp, "I'll be back in a little while. Remember the buddy system, please, people!"

Everyone sorta just nodded and waved him away, seemin' like they all just let him think he was in charge of what they did. I frowned, knowin' that wouldn't fly with me for long. I was happy when I saw that guy climb into his jeep, start the engine, and tear down the side of the hill, kickin' up dust behind the tires as he gained distance.

"Jeez, how the hell do you put up with that douche?" I asked Carol in a quiet grumble as I tossed my dirty clothes into an empty laundry basket, along with a few more that needed washed, and followed her through camp. "I've been here less than 24 hours and I already wanna kick his teeth in."

Carol sighed as she led me past the cookin' area, down around the RV, and through a long path in the trees that led to an old rock quary. The sight of the bright turquoise water made me nervous, but I tried to ignore it and focus on Carol's voice instead.

"Shane is a troubled man." She explained to me sadly, "He has no one left. No family, no children. I think he tries to maintain order and authority within the group to give himself some purpose."

I quietly scoffed, havin' trouble feelin' sympathy for that guy. "Well, I can take care of myself. He doesn't need to watch over whatever I do, and I ain't afraid to make that known."

Before Carol could reply, we were greeted by Amy, Andrea, and Jackie, who all sat at the quary's edge, barefoot with their pant legs rolled to their knees. Piles of clothes sat in front of them, some wet and some dry, and they scrubbed the dirt off the ones soakin' in the water with thick, bristly brushes.

"Mornin', ladies." Andrea said as she reached up to wipe the sweat from her forehead with her arm, then squinted into the bright mornin' sunlight as Carol and I got closer.

"Good mornin'." Carol returned her greetin', and I just nodded and stiffly smiled at the three women. I kicked my shoes and socks off to the side before takin' a seat next to Amy, who smiled warmly my way.

"Did ya sleep all right last night, Rae?" Jackie asked me as she dipped her brush in the water, then started scrubbin' a pant leg, "I hope T-Dog's snorin' didn't keep ya awake."

I forced a smile over at the woman while I shook my head, and accepted a brush bein' passed down to me from Andrea. "Nah, I slept just fine, thank ya." I said, even though that was a total lie, but it wasn't 'cause of T-Dog's snorin'.

"I sure do miss my old Maytag washer..." Carol groaned as she fiercely scrubbed a muddy grass stain out of a pair of jeans, "Worked so much better than this cold quary water..."

"I hear ya, girl." Jackie agreed as she dunked a shirt underneath the water, then wrung out all the moisture. "I miss my coffee maker..."

The sound of hot coffee instantly made my mouth water. I used to drink three cups each mornin' when I had my job at the diner a few years ago. They always stuck me with the breakfast shift, and I had just turned 21, so needless to say I didn't sleep much. That job fed my addiction to the caffeine, but that was somethin' I obviously had to ween myself of in this new primal world. Coffee and cigarettes.

Amy let out a sigh as she wrung out a sweater and then tossed it in the clean pile, "I miss my cell phone. Texting... Facebook!" She groaned as she sluggishly picked up a pair of shorts, dunkin' them in the water.

"I miss my vibrator." Andrea bluntly added in, droppin' all our jaws and coaxin' some cacklin' laughter from down the line.

I smirked around the group of ladies when our laughter died down before pipin' up, "Me, too."

Andrea gasped and lightly shoved my shoulder as Jackie raised her eyebrows at me, and Amy's face turned bright red.

"Raelyn, you bad girl!" Andrea joked, and I heard Carol giggle as I shamelessly shrugged my shoulders, and went about scrubbin' the dirt outta my own pair of jeans.

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"Do you think Channing Tatum is still alive?" Amy wondered aloud as she glanced at me. We were followin' behind the older women, a basket of clean but damp clothes in each of our arms, "Or Jake Gyllenhaal?"

"Lord, girl, I hope so." I answered her with a smile, "Us girls can only dream, right?"

Amy giggled as we approached camp, and I followed her to a sunny spot where there were clothes lines strung through the branches of the bushes.

"All I know is I've got dibs on Channing." The teen girl joked with a grin as we set our baskets down and started pinnin' the damp clothes to the line to dry.

It was quiet for a few seconds before Amy asked me, "So... You and Daryl, huh?"

I paused as I raised my eyebrow at her, holdin' a shirt in my hands, "What about me and Daryl?" She didn't even have to say anything. I could tell what Amy was implyin' just by the mischievous smirk on her heart shaped face, "No, no. It ain't like that."

I continued to go about hangin' the clothes up to dry, squintin' my eyes in the bright sun as I reached for more clothes pins, but I could feel Amy's eyes on me.

"But you want it to be." She said as if she were askin' me, but really she was observin' me.

My face turned bright red as the teenager raised her eyebrows at me and nodded her head. I was thinkin' about denyin' it, but hell, who was I kiddin'?

"Is it really that obvious?" I asked Amy.

"A little, yea." The teenager replied honestly, "But it's cute... I think you guys would be cute together, even though I can't really picture Daryl exactly caring about anyone..."

I smiled a little and rolled my eyes lightly. I couldn't blame the girl, she didn't know him like I did. She only knew the stubborn, aggressive, hot-headed Daryl that most people didn't dare fuck with.

But there was another side to that man that only I knew, a sweet, carin' human being with a funny sense of humor that always made me laugh, even in my worst mood.

I could only hope that this world hadn't erased that side from him completely...

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To be continued...

AN:: yay, update! I know, I lied, I'm sorry... Daryl WILL be in the next chapter, this one was just getting a little longer and I'm so tired D:

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please vote & & comment (for wattpad) or review (for fanfiction)

Thank you! ❤


	9. Chapter Eight

.: Raelyn | Age 27 *Present* :.

It was mid-mornin' by the time Amy and I finished hangin' up all the laundry to dry, and everyone was up and bustlin' around camp.

Carl and Sophia, Carol's daughter, scampered past us as we made our way through the tents and parted ways, Amy turnin' left to see what Andrea was doin' inside the RV, and me stayin' on my path goin' straight, headed toward the other vehicles.

I frowned, feelin' my heart sink as I scanned my eyes around at all the passin' faces, still not seein' the steel blue eyes I was hopin' for... What I did see, though, was that beautiful red Charger propped up on a jack, with Dale, Jim, and Morales swarmin' around it like frantic honeybees on a freshly bloomed flower.

"Whoa, what's goin' on?" I asked Glenn, who was standin' off to the side bitterly watchin' the other three men tinker away.

"Look at them." Glenn spat as he crossed his arms over his chest, glarin' at Morales while he popped the front left tire off the car's body and started rollin' it off toward his van, "Vultures. Go ahead, strip it clean!"

He sounded so disappointed, watchin' as Jim used a wrench to disassemble the gorgeous, powerful engine, and as Dale drained the last of the gasoline from the tank into a red canister. It wasn't really fun for me to watch, either. It was an amazin' car in almost perfect condition, just bein' ripped apart right before our eyes.

"Sorry, kids." Dale sighed with a sympathetic smile as he lugged the can of gas passed us and toward the RV, "Generators need all the fuel they can get... No power without it."

He reached up and gave Glenn's shoulder a pat, who let out a deflated sigh.

"I was hoping to drive it at least a few more days." He grumbled to me, and I nodded in agreement.

"Life ain't fair, I guess..." I replied glumly.

Boy, was that an understatement.

I was so busy watchin' the men ravage the Charger that I didn't notice Rick at my side until he spoke up, "Maybe we'll get to steal another one, someday."

I rolled my eyes at him, and I noticed he wasn't dressed in his Sheriff's uniform today... Instead, Rick was wearin' a plain white t-shirt, blue jeans, and some gray sneakers. It was sorta strange, seein' him dressed like a regular civilian, but I suppose that's all he was, anymore... Just a survivor like the rest of us.

Rick then chuckled, patted Glenn and I each on the shoulder, then turned to stroll off toward Lori, who was busy foldin' dry clothes at that long white table with Carol and Jackie.

Glenn and I stayed put, makin' gruesome faces at the car as one part after another was ripped from the engine, until the sound of tires rollin' up through the dirt caught my attention. The sharp breeze cut through my hair, whippin' it over my shoulder as I turned my eyes toward the main path leadin' into camp.

If I didn't feel disgusted enough already about the car, I could have almost puked at the sight of Shane's jeep tearin' through the trees and screechin' to a halt about fifteen feet away. A cloud of dust swooped up around the vehicle as the driver's side door popped open and Shane stepped out onto the grass.

"Water's here, people!" He hollered out to everyone in earshot, slammin' his door behind him and takin' off his sunglasses, "Just a friendly reminder to boil first."

As Shane and Rick half-heartedly greeted each other by noddin' their heads and limply wavin' their hands toward one another, Glenn and I pulled ourselves away from the metal carnage and drifted over to the back of the Jeep, helpin' unload the few jugs of water. I noticed the feelin' of Shane's eyes lingerin' on me as I hauled the jug down toward the cooking area, but I did my best to just ignore him, rather than turn around and snap like I wanted to.

Glenn quickly made his way back up toward the main group of campers, but I chose to hang back and slip into Jackie and T-Dog's tent. It was quiet and secluded, exactly what I wanted in that moment as I plopped down on my sleepin' bag and let out a long sigh.

I was feelin' so anxious and frustrated, the last thing I wanted to do was go make nice with a bunch of strangers... Rick and Glenn were honestly the only ones I could stomach the longest, and even they got on my nerves... Carol was pretty nice, too, though. And Amy...

All right, so I guess it wasn't exactly the people around that were botherin' me... It was the lack of that one particular person that was just drivin' me up the wall. I wanted to see Daryl, I needed to see him. To hear him, to hug him... I just couldn't handle bein' away from him a second longer, and knowin' he was put there, alive and well, makin' his way back to this camp at that very moment... Well, it was enough to send my anxiety levels into the clouds.

"C'mon, Daryl..." I quietly urged him as I fell back onto my pillow, "Hurry up and get here, already..."

For a split second, the scary thought passed through my mind that maybe he wasn't gonna make it back... Images of my best friend covered in blood and walker bites filled my mind, and panic rushed through my veins.

No, that wasn't possible, though. Daryl was too tough, too stubborn to let himself go down like that. I knew that for a fact, he'd put up one hell of a fight before anyone took him out, and not even a bunch of walkin', flesh eatin' dead guys could stand in his way of survival.

I closed my eyes and thought of his face, tryin' to recall every little detail... His scruffy light brown hair... His pale blue eyes, of course... That little mole right next to his mouth on the right side... His lean, toned frame from all the hikin' and huntin' he did... The way he'd squint one eye when the sun was too bright, or the way he smirked when I told a joke that he thought was funny, but didn't wanna laugh at... I missed him so damn much.

Suddenly, just as I felt my mind driftin' away from me and my body givin' into a light sleep, a high pitched scream pierced the air, scarin' the shit outta me. My body jolted upward on my sleepin' bag, my heart poundin' and my breath ragged as I listened, tryin' to pinpoint the noise.

"MOMMY!" A tiny voice hollered out from a distance away, soundin' like Sophia from the top of the hill. Then, came Carl's terrified cry, "MOM! DAD!"

I could hear everyone shoutin' frantically as chaos unfolded outside the tent, and I scurried around to find some sorta weapon. I didn't know what was goin' on out there, but I wasn't gonna just sit around and wait to figure it out, and I sure as hell wasn't runnin' into anything out there unarmed, either.

My pistol was useless with no bullets, so I left that underneath my sleepin' bag, and instead grabbed the next thing my eyes laid on... A crowbar, leanin' up against a crate packed full with some of T-Dog's personal stuff. In a flash, I had the zipper ripped open and was dashin' full speed through camp. A few people had stayed near the RV, cowerin' and whimperin' in fear, but mostly everyone had disappeared. I could hear frantic voices screamin' out from the trees at the top of the hill, and my legs automatically propelled me there.

When I finally reached the top of the hill where the forest started to get thick, I could see everyone crowdin' around in a panic. I passed Amy and Andrea huddlin' next to Dale to see Lori and Carol hangin' back, shieldin' their children with their bodies and holdin' them close. Just a few feet away, Shane, Rick, Glenn, Jim, and Morales circled somethin', fiercely beatin' whatever it was with blunt objects like shovels and the butts of their guns.

"What the hell's goin' on?!" I yelled out as I gripped the crowbar and pushed my way to the group of guys, fueled on pure adrenaline.

"Stay back, Rae!" Rick roared out at me over his shoulder, swingin' the shovel in his hands out in front of him.

My eyes followed his weapon at the lightnin' speed he was wieldin' it, and my heart stopped when I saw the walker. It was horrible lookin'... Bloody, grimey, clothes muddy and ripped up, face half rotted off... And all the guys were doin' was batterin' it around, knockin' it in the chest and stomach, which only made it more agitated.

The walker let out a disgustin' gurgle as it stumbled toward Glenn, who yelped and swung at its upper body with a metal baseball bat.

He struck the corpse in the left shoulder, breakin' the bone with a loud snap, but that still didn't stop that ugly, dead bastard. It just kept comin', reachin' out and grabbin' for one person after the other.

"Ya'll ain't doin' shit to it-" I protested as I tried to step in, but felt an arm brace hard against my collar bone and roughly shove me backwards.

I stumbled a little but quickly caught my balance, sharply glarin' at Shane, who had been the one to shove me. He scowled darkly in my direction, then quickly snapped at me, "Girl, are you deaf or somethin'?! Stay the hell back away from this damn thing!"

Before I could yell back at him, he turned and bashed the butt of his rifle into the livin' corpse's neck, bustin' the skin open and 'causin' a sea of black, deceased blood to spill out all over the grass. Everyone jumped back as the thing wobbled forwards, stumblin' straight in my direction.

I tightened my grip on the crowbar, keepin' my eyes on the beast and listenin' to Morales's panicked shouts that sounded so far away, "Raelyn, move! Get outta the way!"

But I didn't go anywhere, despite Carol, Lori, and Andrea's screams mixin' in with Morales's. Instead, I held my ground, and when that disgustin', evil thing got close enough, just before it could curl it's boney fingers around my neck... I swung my arm as hard as I could, smashin' that crowbar into the walker's rotten skull. The metal sickeningly crunched into the bone, shatterin' it to pieces and rupturin' the brain.

The body stopped movin', its arms fallin' limp at its sides as I ripped the crowbar free, watchin' the bag of bones and decomposin' skin crumple to the ground in a bloody heap.

I could hear Carl and Sophia whimperin' behind me, along with their mothers' hushed, soothin' voices tryin' to calm them down. My eyes were glued to the walker for a second or two before I flicked them up and around to all of the camp's men surroundin' me.

"Gotta aim for the head." I informed them bluntly after takin' in their wide eyed stares of confusion. I let my gaze lock onto Shane's, feelin' some kinda anger fester in my stomach as I narrowed my eyes and lowered my voice just slightly, "I was tryin' to tell ya that, if you woulda just listened."

Really, I wanted to cuss that guy out and maybe give him a taste of that crowbar in my hand, but of course I controlled myself and my mouth in front of all the campers, especially the kids. But I sure as hell made certain that Shane could understand my pure hatred for him just through the look in my eyes.

And by the way his ears turned red and his jaw clenched, all the tension in his dark eyes travelin' down to his flarin' nostrils... I knew he understood my feelin's.

"That's the first one we've seen up here..." Dale grimly pointed out as he suddenly stepped forward, keepin' a weary eye on the corpse sprawled across the grass.

Jim then took off his baseball cap to wipe the sweat from his forehead before sighin', "Well, that must mean they're runnin' outta food in the city..."

A sick feelin' hit me in my stomach at the word 'food' comin' outta Jim's mouth, knowin' he meant people... Livin' human beings.

It wasn't until now when everyone was a little more calm that I realized why the walker had straggled into camp. A decent sized buck lay near the treeline, it's throat ripped out and gnawed on. I noticed there were also a handful of arrows stickin' out from its back, but didn't think too much of them in that moment.

I let out a sigh, turnin' to leave and head back down to the tents, when suddenly there was a rustlin' sound comin' from the trees behind us all. Everyone froze, the men raisin' their weapons and urgently glancin' around to find the source of the noise.

My heart was racin' as I turned back around, starin' intently into the trees and expectin' to see another dead body come strollin' out toward us, thinkin' it'd make one of us its next meal.

When I finally caught a glimpse of a human figure startin' to show through the brush, my stomach leapt up into my throat. I couldn't tell if it was a walker, or a human, but either one could be equally as threatenin'. My fingertips instinctively tightened around the metal crowbar, just in case I'd need to use it again... But suddenly, a gruff, twangy voice rang out through the trees...

"Sum' bitch! That was MY deer!"

Instantly, my body felt numb from my head to my toes. My breath was caught frozen in my lungs, and I couldn't quite tell if my heart was beatin' too fast, or not fast enough. All I did know was that voice... I knew that voice better than anything, it was the voice I'd been dyin' to hear for over three months now, and that I had been almost positive I'd never hear again.

"Look at it, all gnawed on by this... -" The bitter soundin' voice continued, but trailed off, leavin' everyone quiet.

He was in view now. I could see him, standin' right there in the sunlight... It was really Daryl, lookin' almost exactly how he did three months ago, granted his hair was a bit longer, his face had grown more scruff and his muscles were more toned.

In a split second, I took in his entire appearance, from his tanned skin, to his misty blue eyes, his gray sleeveless shirt and dirty jeans, right down to his dusty old workboots. His old crossbow hung slack in his hand danglin' by his side, and he was starin' right at me... His eyes were vacant, his face completely blank, like he was starin' at a ghost.

I could feel everyone's eyes on us, watchin' to see what we'd do, but I just let 'em stare. They were the last thing I was thinkin' about while I was standin' there just six or seven feet away from the person I'd been searchin' so hard for...

"... Rae...? " Daryl spoke up first, his eyes narrowin' and his voice just above a whisper.

And that was all it took, the sound of my name rollin' from his lips. The crowbar fell into the grass with a thud as my body's autopilot took over, propellin' me forward until I could reach out and touch Daryl.

My breath hitched as I threw my arms up and wrapped them around his neck, pullin' his body into mine so tightly, I thought we might possibly morph into one person. At first, Daryl was stiff and unresponsive from the shock, but after a few seconds I heard his heavy crossbow drop to the ground, and felt his masculine arms encircle my waist. In that moment, even though I'd just bashed a zombie's rotten skull in with a crowbar, I felt complete bliss. I never wanted to let Daryl go.

"Raelyn...Holy shit." My best friend breathed into my hair as I felt his right hand travel upwards and press against the back of my head, "Yer really standin' here? Right in front'a me? This ain't some dream?"

I nodded my head into his shoulder, unable to keep the smile off my face as he pulled away slightly, searchin' my eyes in disbelief.

"It's me, Dare." I assured him through an exhausted chuckle, leanin' in and pressin' myself against him again, "Jesus Christ, I thought I was never gonna see ya again..."

"Ah, so Dixon's got a soft side, after all." Dale's voice teased from a few feet away.

"Shut up, old man." Daryl growled back, and I heard Dale chuckle as my best friend pried me away from him and held me out at arms length, his puzzled eyes flashin' over me a few times and his tone much more serious as he spoke again, "Rae... How the hell did you get here?"

"I was in the city..." I replied, glancin' around at everyone still starin' at us, "I ran into your group and came back here with 'em."

Daryl raised his eyebrows at me, "The city?! Just what the hell were you doin' there? Place is a livin' graveyard."

"I was lookin' for you and Merle..." I explained, my voice startin' to sound a little nervous, so I cleared my throat, "Which reminds me, Daryl... I need to tell ya somethin'-"

"Ya seen my brother already, huh? That fool still alive?" My friend asked me with a slight smirk before I could tell him anything about his brother bein' left behind in Atlanta, "I got about a dozen squirrels here I need 'im to help me skin."

Daryl held up a bunch of squirrels strung together before makin' his way back down the hill toward camp, and I flashed the group an uneasy glance before quickly trailin' behind him.

"Merle?!" Daryl called out as he neared the tents, "Merle, c'mon! I got us some squirrel, let's stew 'em up!"

He continued to rustle around in the cookin' area, rattlin' pots and pans around until he noticed everyone starin' at him.

"That's what I was tryin' to tell ya, Dare..." I started out in a gentle voice, "There was a problem with Merle... Um... Somethin' happened back in the city."

We all waited as Daryl seemed to absorb this information, his face slowly fallin' into a grim, blank stare. My heart sank as he glanced down at the ground, then turned his eyes back up to me. "... He dead...?"

I shamefully shook my head and shrugged my shoulders, feelin' a dull pain in my heart as I told Daryl the truth, "We're not sure-"

"The hell you mean you ain't sure?!" My best friend sharply snapped, raisin' his voice as he suddenly stood to his feet, "Either he is or he ain't!"

I furrowed my eyebrows at Daryl, about to come back at his fierce tone, when Rick suddenly stepped in and boldly spoke up.

"Look, there's no easy way to say this," The police officer announced as he looked toward Daryl, who was growin' more agitated by the second, "So I'll just say it."

"Who the hell're you?" Daryl barked his demand toward Rick, narrowin' his blue-eyed and givin' the man a once over.

"Rick Grimes."

"Okay, Rick Grimes." The redneck I'd been searchin' for all these weeks replied, spittin' his words out in a condescendin' way, "You got somethin' you wanna tell me?"

Rick didn't waste any time tellin' Daryl how it was, keepin' his voice level and even the entire time, "Your brother was a danger to us all. So, I handcuffed him to the roof. Chained him to a piece of metal... And he's still there."

At that moment, T-Dog approached, holdin' an armful of firewood. He could hear what Rick was sayin' to Daryl, and immediately his face fell into an anxious mess.

At this point, Daryl was pacin' back and forth, his face twistin' into a tense, angry scowl. "Hold on," He snarled out, and I knew just from experience with his temper that he was about to explode, "Just lemme process this. So yer sayin' you handcuffed my brother to a roof

... An' you LEFT HIM THERE?!"

Daryl stared Rick down with wide, angry eyes, and the police officer nodded his head with no fear. This prompted the redneck I grew up with to turn to me, and take a few stompin' steps toward me, "An' you just stood there and let Mr. Clean-Cut over here handcuff Merle to a god damn piece'a metal?!"

"He pointed a gun in my face, Daryl!" I snapped back, immediately defendin' myself as Daryl glared daggers at me.

Just as Daryl was about to start shoutin' somethin' else at me, Rick stepped between us and held his hand out to keep my best friend from comin' any closer. I watched as Daryl's eyebrows raised and his jaw clenched, knowin' Rick had only amped his anger up a notch or two.

"Hey, it wasn't Raelyn's fault." Rick firmly said to Daryl, "Merle was puttin' her life in danger, too. She didn't tell me to use the cuffs, that was my decision, and mine alone. Just back up a little."

"Rick-" I started to say, but Daryl's loud mouth was still ragin' on over my voice.

"Back up a little?!" He repeated Rick in a raised tone, his lips upturnin' into a frown and his misty colored eyes narrowin' threateningly. "Man, why don't ya take yer own advice?! Git outta the way!"

Suddenly, Daryl threw a punch at Rick's jaw, but the police officer was quick to dodge. Outta no where, Shane flew in and shoved Daryl to the ground, coaxin' a yelp from my throat as I dropped to my knees to help my childhood friend back up to his feet.

Everything happened so fast, I didn't even notice the sharp huntin' knife Daryl had whipped out and clutched tightly in his hand until he was bumpin' me outta the way and scramblin' to his feet.

"Watch the knife!" I heard T-Dog warn no one in particular, but it must have been intended for Rick because that was who Daryl was targetin'.

He lunged once, swipin' the sharp blade at Rick's throat, but he ducked right at the last second and avoided bein' sliced open.

"Daryl!" I hollered out desperately as my best friend took another vengeful stab at Rick, who luckily dodged once more. "Daryl, stop!"

Shane abruptly leapt up again, latchin' onto Daryl and tightenin' his arms around his neck in a choke hold. As the knife fell from my best friend's fingers and his movements weakened a little, I felt a fiery rage ignite inside me. Before I knew it, I was lungin' toward Shane, but someone wrapped their arms firmly around my waist and held me back.

"LET HIM GO!" I screamed out to Shane as I struggled against whoever held me, which turned out to be Rick.

"Just calm down!" His voice hissed in my ear as he fought to control my flailin' limbs, "Relax, Shane ain't gonna hurt him...!"

"You best let me go!" Daryl growled to Shane, who was slowly forcin' him to the ground, "Choke hold's illegal...!"

When Shane let Daryl go and tossed him to the ground, I calmed a bit, and Rick released me. He slowly trailed over to Daryl, kneelin' in front of him and talkin' in a low, even tone. "I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Think we can manage that?"

I stared hopefully at Daryl with my arms crossed over my chest as he sat there on the ground, pantin' and glarin' around at everyone in the group before forcin' a stiff, reluctant nod. Rick sighed, then started explainin' his actions in the city one more time.

"What I did was not on a whim." He clarified, "Your brother does not work or play well with others-"

"It ain't Rick's fault." T-Dog suddenly piped up, and everyone looked at him, "I had the handcuff key. I dropped it..."

It was quiet and tense as everyone looked to Daryl, waitin' for his reply, which came after a few seconds in his desperate, exasperated voice, "Well... Did ya pick it up?!"

"I dropped it down the drain." T-Dog clarified, his voice stiffenin' up a little bit.

Daryl's head drooped as he sighed gravely, liftin' his gaze back up to glare in T-Dog's direction. "Yea, well if that's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."

His voice was so bitter and angry, but T-Dog kept tryin' to make the situation better.

"I chained the door shut so the geeks couldn't get to 'im..." He muttered, glancin' at the ground.

"That's gotta count for somethin'." Rick offered with a shrug, and Daryl seemed to think this over. He glanced at me, and I nodded my head to prove that T-Dog was tellin' the truth.

My best friend let out a sigh as he pushed himself up off the ground and to his feet, scowlin' at all of us standin' around him, just quietly starin'.

"The hell with all ya'll!" Daryl growled in an exasperated tone, flingin' his arm out toward us all in a dismissive gesture before turnin' toward Rick, "Dammit, just tell me where Merle is. I'll go get 'I'm myself."

"He'll show you." Lori's voice suddenly piped up from the door of the RV, where she was standin' with Amy, Andrea, and Dale.

"No," I interrupted sharply, "I will, since this is partly my responsibility."

I glared at Daryl as I spat those words, and he instantly fought back. "You ain't goin' back out into that damn city!"

"Like hell I ain't!" I snapped right back, "You just try and stop me, Dixon."

Daryl seemed like he was fishin' for somethin' else to say, but Rick spoke up first and vest him to it.

"Then it's decided." He announced as he dreadfully passed his eyes around the group of us, "We're goin' back."

A grave feelin' washed over the entire camp, and I watched as Lori turned and braced herself in the doorway of the RV, seemin' like she was collectin' every little piece of herself after hearin' that news.

When Daryl abruptly stormed away toward the tents, leavin' his angry, spiteful tension in the air surroundin' us, I watched his back as he gained distance.

I was gonna just let him go and give him his space... And I tried to stick with that plan, I really did. But there was just somethin' inside me that was drawin' me to follow him, even though I knew he probably needed to be alone...

But I had to talk to him...

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To be continued...


	10. Chapter Nine

.:Raelyn | Age 13:.

"I can't believe I'm actually goin' inside yer house." I said to Daryl from the passenger seat of his new truck.

Well, really it was an old truck; The paint was faded, the radio was ripped out, and there were all kinds of tears and stains in the tan leather bench seat. But, it was new to Daryl. He bought it from his older brother three months ago on his 18th birthday, and ever since then we'd been drivin' all over the damn place.

Today, he'd picked me up after school, like he'd been doin' for the past few weeks. Daryl was in his senior year of high school now, so he was makin' an even bigger habit of skippin' class than the years before. Didn't matter to me, though, 'cause a lot of times he'd fit me into his plan to play hookie. Just last week, he even called my middle school and pretended to be an uncle of mine, sayin' I was "sick" just 'cause goin' fishin' with him sounded a lot better to me than sittin' in stuffy classrooms all day.

"Yea," Daryl grumbled as he paused to take a long drag off his cigarette before flickin' the ashes out the open driver's side window, "Well its only 'cause my old man ain't home, so don't get too accustomed to it, okay?"

"I know, I know." I replied as we stopped at a red light in town, eyein' the burnin' cigarette between his fingers, "Hey, gimme a hit of that."

Daryl instantly turned his head to the side with one of his eyebrows raised, like I'd just asked him to help me rob a bank. "Uh-uh. No way."

My blonde eyebrows scrunched together as the light turned green, and he turned his attention back to the road, shakin' his head as he pressed on the gas.

"Why not?" I demanded as I folded my arms over my chest, the wind rushin' inside the cab from the open windows whippin' my ponytail off my shoulders.

"'Cause I ain't gettin' you started on cigarettes." Daryl muttered back to me in a flat tone, as if that was the end of the discussion.

I rolled my green eyes. He shoulda known me better.

"C'mon, Dare." I urged my best friend in a persuadin' way, reachin' my arm across the cab and tryin' to grab his cigarette. "Just one puff, I wanna try it!"

Daryl quickly yanked his arm away, glarin' my way while simultaneously keepin' an eye on the road in front of us. "Girl, are you crazy?! I'm drivin', don't be reachin' over here all in my space an' shit."

"I wouldn't hafta reach if you'd just give it." I pointed out as I snatched for the cigarette again, yelpin' as the ember singed the soft skin of my finger tip.

Daryl's eyes widened for a second, but when he realized I was okay, he got all flustered. He tossed the half burnt cigarette out the window, turnin' to me in a huff as we pulled up to yet another red light.

"See what ya did?" He snapped at me, "Ya went an' burned yerself, stupid. Why can't ya just listen, Rae?"

Once again, I leaned against the doorframe and rolled my eyes as Daryl tried to lecture me, like he'd done a million times before. I never really took him seriously though, I just couldn't for some reason.

"I ain't dyin'." I said to my friend in a smart-ass tone, and the light turned green again. Daryl let out a frustrated sigh, turnin' his agitated eyes back out the windshield as he accelerated with traffic.

"That ain't the point, Raelyn." He grumbled, leanin' his elbow on the worn out door panel and chewin' on his thumb nail like he always did when he drove, "Yer so stubborn, ya need to learn what the word no means."

"Yea, yea." I half heartedly replied, havin' heard these kinda cranky lectures from him for six years now. He always tried to act like the wiser one since he was a little older, and most of the time I just played along. Sometimes, though, we did disagree enough to argue, but this wasn't one of those times.

As Daryl kept ramblin' on about me an' my attitude problems (Like he had any room to talk...) I slowly snuck my hand across the bench seat, creepin' my fingers toward his pack of smokes restin' up against his leg, along with his lighter.

I was quick to snatch both, flippin' the top of the cigarette pack open and pluckin' one of 'em out. The second I clamped the cigarette between my lips and sparked the lighter, Daryl turned his eyes to me, stoppin' him mid sentence.

"Hey!" He barked, glancin' down next to his leg where his pack of cigarettes were missin', and now sittin' in my lap. "You little sneak!"

I giggled, and smoke leaked from my lips in hazy clouds. I scrunched my nose up at the ashy taste, and coughed just a little bit. "These are pretty nasty."

"Good, now put it out." Daryl said as he motioned toward his truck's ash tray, but I shook my head as I slid the pack and the lighter back across the bench seat toward him.

"Nah." I replied simply as I grinned a little and took a long drag, lettin' the smoke slowly leave my lungs, "I lit it already, so might as well just smoke it. I think I'm already used to it."

For a second, Daryl just watched me puff on the cigarette. Finally, he sighed and shook his head, givin' up on tryin' to break me of my stubborn ways. "You are somethin' else, kid."

I shrugged my shoulders, holdin' my cigarette out the window and flickin' the ashes off the end, already feelin' the habit settin' in fast. "I know."

He was tryin' so hard to hide it, but as I glanced over at Daryl in the driver's seat, I could see the slightest hint of an amused grin on his face.

I smiled to myself, knowin' he could never stay mad at me for long, and that's why we were best friends.

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My stomach fluttered as Daryl steered the truck down Thomas Rd, growin' closer and closer to his house by the second. There was just one more hill before the old blue house would come into view out in the middle of the field, and it was a steep one.

I caught Daryl's eyes as he glanced across the cab at me, and there was a mischievous glint to 'em. I grinned, knowin' what he was thinkin', and nodded me head to show that I was thinkin' the same thing.

The engine roared as Daryl slammed his foot on the gas, and I let out an excited laugh as my body was tossed back into the seat. We raced up the hill so fast, it felt like my stomach had been left on the road behind us. The tires barely clung to the pavement as the truck sailed over the hill, flyin' back down on the other side. Daryl let off the gas as we came around the bend, lettin' the truck slow down some.

"That never gets old." He chuckled to me, his eyes twinklin' at the sound of the powerful engine whirrin' and buzzin'.

I was lost in a fit of giggles, feelin' like I had just come down off the first drop of a roller coaster. "When are you gonna teach me to drive, Daryl?"

My best friend shrugged his shoulders, steerin' the truck to the left as we approached his driveway. I could see his blue house out in the field through the trees, and my heartbeat quickened, "I dunno. One'a these days."

The sound of the gravel driveway crumplin' beneath the tires of Daryl's truck filled my ears, and I chewed my bottom lip as I watched the house grow closer and closer. Pretty soon, we were parked in front of the garage, and Daryl had killed the engine.

"Here we are," He grumbled as he grabbed his keys and camo print backpack, slingin' it over his shoulder and poppin' his door open, "Home Sweet home..."

As I grabbed my own plain purple backpack and jarred open the passenger side door, I kept an eye on the front porch. The porch light above the front door cast an eerie lookin' yellow glow over the entire porch, and it was always on. At night, it was really creepy lookin', but I tried not to think about that as we walked across the creaky wooden floorboards.

Daryl fiddled with the keys in his hands, finally graspin' the right one in his fingers as we reached the door. In one quick motion, he shoved the key into the lock, gave it a twist, and popped the door open. Instantly, the smell of stale cigarette smoke hit my nose. I was used to that, though, because my Aunt Laura was a heavy smoker. She always smoked in the house.

The first room we walked into from the front door was the family room. When Daryl clicked on the dim lamp in the corner, I could see the dingy, stained carpet, the old worn out furniture and the outdated TV in the corner. From behind me, I could hear the sound of rustlin', and drawers openin'.

I turned around to look at Daryl, and saw him rushin' around the wooden coffee table stained in water rings, most likely left from beer cans. He had a few different plastic baggies gripped in his hands, and as he stuffed them in the drawers of one of the mismatched end tables, I could see the green, grassy contents of one bag, and the other bag had somethin' in it that looked like powdered sugar... I knew they were drugs, I wasn't stupid... It was just weird seein' in right in front of me.

"What are you doin'?" I asked Daryl curiously as he shut the drawers and hid the bags away, "You don't gotta hide shit from me. It ain't like I don't know about that stuff."

Daryl rolled his eyes and continued leadin' me down a dark hall way with two doors on each side. "Yea, well it don't mean it should be layin' out all over the house. My dad and my brother are idiots, they're the ones that do the shit."

I followed him down the hall, to the last door on the right, and watched as he reached up above the door frame and revealed a tiny gold key. "Gotta keep my door locked around here if I want all my shit to stay in tact..."

"You don't do any of those drugs?" I asked curiously as Daryl jiggled the key into the lock on his door, and I heard him let out a sigh.

"I smoked a little weed with Merle b'fore, but I don't make a habit of it." He replied as he pushed the door open, and all of a sudden I was standin' in a space that just screamed Daryl.

The walls were painted a dark forest green, and by the way some of the paint was smudged on the ceiling and over the light switch, I knew he'd painted it himself. There were posters that showed people dressed in camo huntin' gear, holdin' guns and stalkin' deer or turkeys, along with some posters of random rock bands he listened to. His curtains and bedspread were camo print, too. There was a tiny box TV with bunny ears on it sittin' on his dresser, and there were clothes layin' all over the floor.

"This is pretty much exactly what I thought your room would look like." I observed as I strolled into the room and plopped down on the bed, lettin' my backpack fall onto the floor. "Less messy though, honestly."

Daryl made an impressed face and nodded his head slightly, as if he approved of my comment, "Ya don't think this is messy?" He picked up a clump of t-shirts and tossed them into a growing pile in his closet, nudgin' the door shut with his foot before it could all topple out again.

"A little," I admitted as I observed the ash tray on his bedside table, stuffed almost full with cigarette butts, "But not as bad as I imagined."

"Well I'll take that as a compliment." My best friend said as I let out a sigh and flopped down on the bed beside me, "Man, I'm beat."

"From what?" I asked as I scrunched up my eyebrows, knowin' he'd skipped school today, "Sleepin' all day and drivin' to come get me?"

Daryl shot me a glare, his pale blue eyes piercin' my green ones and sendin' a shiver up my spine, "Shut up."

I giggled and stood up off his bed, bein' nosey and lookin' all around his room.

"So, ya seen my house now." Daryl huffed as he sat up and watched me snoop around, "It ain't nothin' special, right? Just like I told ya. Now what do you wanna do?"

I shrugged my shoulders, but before I could suggest anything, we both caught the sound of a loud motor rollin' up into the driveway. I looked to Daryl, who's eyes widened and he immediately jumped up and darted to the window, pullin' the curtains back and peerin' outside through the smudged up glass.

"Aw, shit..." Daryl hissed, his face scrunchin' into a frown.

"What?" I asked, whisperin' even though no one else was in the house but us. Well, not yet, at least. "Who's here?"

Daryl sighed, glancin' over to me with a frustrated expression, "My brother."

"So?" I said to him, my voice puzzled.

"He ain't exactly the nicest person." Daryl replied, walkin' away from the window and runnin' his hand through his shaggy brown hair, "Wasn't really plannin' on introducin' ya to 'im yet."

I moved over to where Daryl had been satndin' and peered out the window just in time to see the front door shut, and miss his brother completely. In the driveway, a sleek black motorcycle was parked right next to Daryl's truck.

After a few seconds, I could hear footsteps thumpin' through the house, and a voice callin' out for Daryl.

"Hey, Dare Bear!" The voice hollered in the hallway, deep and raspy, gettin' closer and closer to the door that Daryl was jumpin' up to block, "You got a cigarette fer yer big brother?!"

"Nah, Merle, I ain't go no cigarettes!" Daryl shouted through the door as he leaned against it with his shoulder, holdin' it closed as his brother jiggled the knob from the other side, "Go away!"

"Fuckin' liar, I know you always got cigarettes, quit holdin' out on me b'fore I gotta come in there an' knock yer teeth in!" Merle's voice grumbled from the other side as the door started wigglin' open.

"Merle!" Daryl grunted as he leaned harder into the door, his feet startin' to slide a little on the floor, "I said GIT OUTTA HERE!"

"The hell are you doin' in there, anyway?" Merle taunted as he finally pushed the door open, sending Daryl stumblin' across the room, crashin' into his dresser, "Jerkin' yer dick or somethin'?"

Instantly, Merle, a young man the was a little taller than Daryl but built much stalkier, barreled into the room and trapped Daryl in a headlock.

"Gimme them smokes, boy," He grumbled as he shoved his hand into Daryl's pocket, all the while his little brother grunted and fought to break free but with no good results. Finally, he ripped the cardboard pack free, then threw Daryl to the ground so he could pull a cigarette out.

While he was focused on the cigarettes, I studied his appearance... It was clear he was quite a bit older than me, I remembered Daryl sayin' he was 26 or 27. His hair was a little lighter than Daryl's, almost blonde, and it was in a buzzcut style, real close to his head. His eyes were the same piercin' blue as Daryl's, and they already had wrinkles around 'em, even though he was still pretty young.

"You fuckin' asshole..." Daryl grumbled as he scrambled back up to his feet, watchin' as Merle lit his cigarette, then noticed me sittin' there on the bed, just starin'.

He blinked his blue eyes at me before an evil grin curved his lips around the cigarette. He let out a puff of smoke, then chuckled, "Ahh, I see what you were doin' in here. My baby brother finally becomin' a man, huh? That one looks a little young fer ya-"

"Man, shut the hell up!" Daryl fiercely snapped, "Ain't nothin' like that, she's just my friend. Ya got yer cigarette, now go on, git."

He tried to shove Merle out the door, but his brother just shoved back harder, and Daryl stumbled backwards and shot him an icey glare. Merle took a drag off his cigarette, shovin' his free hand in the pocket of his jeans as he strolled closer to me.

"Ah, I see, this is that little girl you're always runnin' around with." He observed in his swampy accent, lookin' me up and down as he let the smoke out with his words, "What's yer name, sweetheart?"

"Leave 'er alone, Merle." Daryl growled protectively, but I gave him a look. I always told him he didn't need to protect me, I could take care of myself. But of course, he never listened.

"I'm Raelyn." I replied to Merle, and his smirked grow into a grin.

"That's a purty name ya got." He said to me, the sweetness in his voice so fake and forced, I could puke. "Whatcha doin' hangin' around with my dopey baby brother, anyhow? Why dontcha come fer a ride on ol' Merle's motorcycle-"

"She ain't interested in ya Merle," Daryl snapped again, steppin' in between the two of us and pushin' his brother back slightly, "She's thirteen. Go on, git yer self another one'a them bar rats ya like so much."

Merle took another drag off his cigarette, narrowin' his eyes at Daryl before blowin' the smoke out straight into his face. My best friend clenched his fists and looked like he wanted to pound Merle's teeth into the back of his throat, but he controlled himself.

"All right, Dare Bear, I'll give you two yer alone time." Merle cooed sarcastically, givin' me a wink before walkin' out the door, allowin' Daryl to slam it behind him, givin' him a chance to twist the lock this time.

He sighed and leaned his back into the door, peerin' at me from across the room, "So... That was Merle. See why I didn't really want ya meetin' 'im?"

I smirked at my best friend, leanin' back on my elbows and starin' up at a poster of a girl in a bikini taped to the ceilin'.

"He wasn't so bad." Then, I glanced over at my friend and said, "Wanna go fishin'?"

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.:Raelyn | 27 *Present*:.

"Daryl!" I called out to that stubborn redneck as I briskly followed him through the trees, past the main group of tents, "Hey! Dixon! God dammit, stop walkin'!"

He just kept goin' though, power walkin' through the brush, ignorin' me on purpose and lettin' the thin tree branches snap back towards me as we approached a lone green tent, which I knew was his. He'd always preferred his space, and I guess the apocalypse didn't really change that about him. If anything, it probably made it worse.

"I know you hear me talkin' to ya," I grumbled out as he hastfully unzipped the door to his tent, "HEY!"

Daryl tried to zip it back up after him, but I barged right in before he could do it. By the look in his eyes, I caught him off guard, but he quickly put that stone cold front right back up, and turned his back on me. He kneeled down next to his backpack and started stuffin' supplies inside and gatherin' ammo for his emergency handgun.

I waited a few seconds for him to say somethin' to me, knowin' that he wasn't gonna. He was too stubborn. So, I spoke up in the tense quiet of the tent, "What the hell, Daryl?! Why are you ignorin' me?!"

"You plannin' on followin' me around naggin' me all day long?" He growled back at me, not botherin' to even spare me a glance as he stood up and pushed past me, stuffin' some water bottles into his backpack, "Save it."

"I ain't naggin' ya," I fought back, tryin' to get him to look at me but he just wouldn't, "This is how it's gonna be, I search and search for ya fer weeks, I fight mother fuckin' ZOMBIES, sick with worry for you guys, then I finally find ya by some crazy coincidence... And all of the sudden, you hate my guts? What the fuck, Dare?!"

He shot me such a horrible, mean look, his voice dark and sinister, I felt like I could either break down and cry, or haul off and punch him right in the mouth. "Just stay outta my way, Raelyn. All right? I'm goin' to get my brother-"

"Yea, and I'm goin' with ya." I countered as I blocked his way outta the tent, "Merle's yer brother, Daryl, but he's MY friend, too-"

"Oh, really?" He hissed at me, narrowin' his eyes and takin' a step toward me, peerin' down into my equally as fierce green eyes, "He's yer friend, huh? That why ya let that pig handcuff him a fuckin' roof? That somethin' that friends do? How long ya been runnin' with that cop, huh, Rae? Ya got a thing goin' with 'im or somethin'?"

I recoiled a little, completely offended by his barrage of irrational questions. He was talkin' to me like I was a complete stranger, like we hadn't been best friends for over ten years. But I wasn't backin' down from him. This wasn't the first time Daryl and I had a knock down drag out argument, and I definitely knew how to hold my own against him, "Are you fuckin' kiddin' me, Daryl? Are you really gonna accuse me of somethin' like that?! I just met the guy, just like you!"

Daryl scoffed at me, smirkin' in frustrated amusement as he shook his head and turned his gaze to the side, away from me, as if everything I was sayin' was complete bullshit. "Whatever, Rae. I don't care what ya been doin' or who ya been with. All I'm focused on is goin' to that city and gettin' Merle back, and I don't think you need to be taggin' along."

"What makes you think you can tell me what I can and can't do?" I asked him, narrowin' my eyes, which made Daryl snap his gaze back to me. "Merle's just as important to me as he is to you-"

"Bullshit!" I flinched as Daryl raised his voice, and backed away from him just slightly, "Yer half the reason he's stranded out there with all them flesh munchin' geeks!"

"Weren't you listenin' to anything anyone was tellin' ya out there?!" I groaned, anxiously rakin' my fingers through my hair, "Merle was-"

"I don't give a god damn!" He shouted, his face red with anger, "Ya know Rae, when you went missin', we looked for ya. We really did, fer weeks. It was hard to get used to ya not bein' here, but I did. And now..."

His voice trailed off, and a mixture of emotions flashed through his eyes as he struggled for the words he needed. As quick as the emotions flashed through, thought, they disappeared again and left just a flat, emotionless stare in their place. "Now... Man, it was just easier with ya gone!"

That one hurt... Felt like a stab to the heart with a cold ice pick, and he must've seen it in my eyes, but I didn't care. He didn't seem to care, either, because he just kept on goin'.

"All I had to do was focus on me. Me an' Merle, survivin'..." He shook his head slowly as he stared at me, "But then, you show up at camp with officer friendly out there, and Merle gets left behind in Atlanta... I dunno, man. I just got too much to lose. I just... I just wish you wouldn't have found me."

The silence followin' Daryl's sentence was thick, and I found myself fightin' back the angry tears that were brimmin' in my eyes... I swallowed hard, takin' a deep, shaky breath and regained my composure, quickly wipin' the moisture from my eyes with the back of my hand and straightenin' up.

"So, what about that day, right before all this bullshit," I mumbled, tryin' to hide the tremble in my voice, "The day we were at yer apartment-"

"I was drunk, Rae." He fiercely cut me off, "Don't be stupid..."

My shoulders sagged as I stared at Daryl in disbelief, slowly shakin' my head and takin' a step toward him, "Who the hell are you, Dare...? What happened to my best friend...?"

He backed away from me, keepin' his blue eyes sharp and serious, but not allowin' me to touch him. "The world ended a long time ago, Raelyn. That includes our world... It just don't exist no more. Best thing fer us to do is start over..."

I had no words left, only anger and hurt festerin' deep in the back of my mind and radiatin' through my veins. My throat clenched and formed a lump that I couldn't swallow, no matter how hard I tried, and before I knew it my vision was foggin' up with tears again. I stared at the ground to hide my tear-streaked cheeks, roughly pushin' past Daryl, but stoppin' to turn and stare him down.

"If that's the way you want it, Daryl Dixon, then fine. Consider us strangers." I mumbled to him, "But I'm goin' back to that city, and I'm gonna help bring Merle back. Then I'll be on my way... Don't worry, I won't ever bother ya again."

I half expected him to call out to me as I stormed off through the trees, to change his mind and tell me he didn't mean what he said... But there was nothin' but the sound of birds chirpin' and my shoes thuddin' against the grassy forest floor.

At this point, I was sobbin', and the tears were streamin' down my face. They dripped from my chin and slid down my collar bone, and I didn't even bother to wipe 'em away... I just didn't care enough.

I couldn't believe this was really happening... My best friend, the person I'd spent three miserable months searching for, wanted nothing to do with me.

My heart was broken, and I wondered what my fate would be after all this bullshit to save Merle back in Atlanta...

At this point, though, I didn't give a damn what happened to me. I just wanted this all to be over...

.

..

...

..

.

To be continued...


End file.
